Fastening device with tape, method of manufacturing the same and product to which the fastening device is attached

ABSTRACT

In a fastening device with tape, a synthetic resin first member is integrally molded on front and back surfaces of a tape having at least one attachment hole in such a manner as to hold an entire peripheral edge portion of the attachment hole of the tape and has an opening portion at a center thereof, and then a synthetic resin second member is attached, by molding or the like, to the first member along an inner peripheral surface of at least the opening portion of the first member and has an engaging portion to be engaged with an opposing fastener. By differentiating a material and a color of the first member from that of the second member, various kinds of fastening devices can be efficiently obtained such as a snap fastener, a male and female button, an eyelet, a fastening band which can be freely adjusted to be various kinds of lengths, a hanging device for curtains or the like which can be applied various kinds of functions and colors in comparison with the conventional art and which can be firmly adhered to the tape.

This is a division of application Ser. No. 09/306,168, filed May 6,1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,199,248, which is incorporated herein byreference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a fastening device with tape and amethod of manufacturing the same. More particularly, it relates to afastening device with tape in which an fastening device comprisingeither of a male member or a female member or both of the male andfemale members is integrally adhered on the same tape, and a method ofmanufacturing the same.

2. Description of the Related Art

It has been known for a long time to form at least one attachment holein a single tape, and integrally mold an eyelet or a similar articlemade of synthetic resin with a desired shape onto front and back facesof the tape such that the eyelet or the article holds a peripheral edgeof the attachment hole. As disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,821,764, forexample, an attachment hole is formed in a sheet material, and an eyeletmade of synthetic resin with a desired shape is integrally molded onfront and back faces of the sheet material so as to hold a peripheraledge of the attachment hole. The eyelet is molded as such by clampingthe sheet material extending in an annular cavity for molding theeyelet, at a plurality positions at the peripheral edge portion of theattachment hole as a center, by using a plurality of pairs of pinmembers projecting in the cavity so as to face each other, and byintroducing molten resin into the cavity.

In general, if the pin members do not exist in the above-describedmolding, the peripheral edge of the attachment hole of the sheetmaterial extending in the cavity largely corrugates in a peripheraldirection due to an introducing pressure of the molten resin. At worst,a portion of the peripheral edge may be deflected so as to abut on aninner face of the cavity, so that the sheet material may be exposed at aportion of a surface of the eyelet as a molded product. The inventiondisclosed in the above U.S. patent has been accomplished by takingnotice of that a proper degree of corrugation of the peripheral edge ofthe attachment hole in the sheet material increases a strength ofsecuring of the eyelet to the sheet material. In order to obtain theproper degree of corrugating state, the peripheral edge portion of theattachment hole of the sheet material is clamped by the pin members inthe cavity, thereby controlling a degree of the corrugation.

In the above U.S. patent, an inlet for introducing the molten resin intothe cavity is formed so as to face the peripheral edge of the attachmenthole so that the molten resin introduced into the cavity by injectioncan smoothly flow to the front and back faces of the attachment hole ofthe sheet material. In other words, the molten resin introduced from acenter of the annular cavity is guided toward an outer diameter in aplane including the attachment hole. The molten resin supplied from theinlet is forwarded respectively to the front and back faces of the sheetmaterial at the peripheral edge of the attachment hole. With thisstructure, because the sheet material is incorporated with the eyelet atthe peripheral edge of the attachment hole in a proper degree ofcorrugating state, the securing strength increases.

According to the above invention, however, a thin disk-shaped plate madeof synthetic resin is integrally molded at a central opening portion ofthe molded eyelet, so that a peripheral face of the opening portion ofthe molded eyelet must be trimmed after removing the thin plate aftermolding as described in the specification.

There is a similar invention that follows the above technical idea ofpreventing excessive corrugation, which is as disclosed in EuropeanPatent No. 0228293. In the European patent, a fastener member of a snapfastener, not limited to a male fastener or a female fastener andincluding the above-described eyelet, is integrally molded on a tape bya method similar to that in the above U.S. patent.

In the European patent, because a specific molding method which isdifferent from the above-described U.S. Patent, is not disclosed, it isunclear how the molten resin is introduced into the cavity. However,according to FIG. 4 showing its representative embodiment, it isapparent that the molten resin is not introduced into the cavity from ainner peripheral portion of the engaging opening of a female member,because upper and lower molds for forming the engaging opening contactwith each other at a parting line thereof. Therefore, the Europeanpatent is considered to be different from the U.S. patent in this point.However, if an inlet for introducing molten resin communicating with thecavity is formed at a position other than an inner peripheral engagingface of the opening, e.g., a portion adjacent to the pin member on aside for forming the opening, an resin introducing pressure is locallyand directly applied to one side of the peripheral edge of theattachment hole of the tape at the beginning of introduction of themolten resin, and thus, a corrugating phenomenon is very much liable tobe generated.

In order to prevent this moving phenomenon, as many pin members aspossible need to be provided for clamping the tape at positions veryclose to the peripheral edge portion of the attachment hole. Because ofthis structure, the molds would be complicated. Further, it is necessaryto make a setting of various and strict molding conditions for avoidingan influence of the flowing of the resin from one face of the tape tothe other face.

Further, in accordance with the invention of the EP patent, as isdifferent from the female fastener and the eyelet, the male fastener isof course a solid molded product due to the structure thereof, andfurther, it is necessary to mold the male fastener a column-likeprojection, which is an engaging portion of the male fastener,protruding from a main body of the male fastener. In order to form themale fastener having the structure mentioned above, as is different fromthe U.S. patent mentioned above, it is necessary to necessarily set agate portion, which corresponds to a guide passage for introducing themolten resin into the cavity, on either one of an upper surface and alower surface of the cavity. In the structure mentioned above, asalready mentioned, in order to restrict a generation of the corrugationin the tape within the cavity, it is desired to securely nip theperipheral edge portion of the attachment hole in the tape by the pinmembers.

Further, in order to form the male fastener and the female fastener onthe same tape, it is necessary to form cavities having differentconfigurations in the mold. Further, in the case of changing an order ofan arrangement of the male fastener and the female fastener, it isnecessary to independently manufacture a mold corresponding thearrangement. This results in a complication of the mold, thus amanufacturing cost therefor is of course increased. When it is desiredto avoid this, then it would be impossible to simultaneously form themale fastener and the female fastener on the same tape.

Further, as is the same as the U.S. patent mentioned above, in thefasteners with the tape mentioned above, it is unavoidable to use asingle synthetic resin material for each fastener. Therefore, takinginto consideration a strength of adhesion onto the tape and a strengthof engagement and disengagement with respect to an opposing fastener, inorder to satisfy the both, it is impossible to change a material of theadhesion portion to the tape and the fastener engaging portion.Furthermore, though it is sufficient to change a shape of the cavity inview of a shape from a viewpoint of its configuration, it is impossibleto apply various colors to the same fastener.

On the contrary, as a thermoplastic resin used for this kind of snapfasteners in accordance with the conventional art, in general, apolyacetal resin is frequently used because a change of viscosity is lowdue to a low hygroscopic of raw material chips, a large amount of rawmaterial chips having various colors can be stored due to little changeof the material, a suitable elasticity and a suitable rigidity areprovided, and it can be obtained by relatively low cost. However, sincethis kind of snap fasteners in accordance with the conventional art isstructured such that all of the fastening members are made of a singlekind of resin material as mentioned above, each of the fastening devicesis unavoidably formed by a single color, so that it is too simple incolor.

Further, the polyacetal resin has a relatively low melting point, eachof the engaging and disengaging devices is significantly fine. Forexample, in the case of the male fastener, an engaging head portionwhich is engaged and disengaged with the female fastener protrudesoutward from the surface of the fastener, the fastening device is easilymelted, for example, if an iron heated to a temperature equal to or morethan a melting point is accidentally brought into contact therewith whenironing, so that the engaging head portion is largely deformed orpressed and broken. Accordingly, a function as the male fastener islost. This tends to be generated at a time of ironing at a general homewhere it is unavoidable to simultaneously iron various kinds of productsmade of various materials and it is hard to keep an ironing temperaturedetermined in correspondence to the material.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is made so as to solve the problems as mentionedabove. In particular, the present invention has an object to provide afastening device with tape which employs a molding principle of the U.S.patent as mentioned above, remarkably improves the invention of the U.S.patent, can securely integrate a male fastening device to the tape, canoptionally arrange different male and female fasteners on the same tape,and can apply various colors to the fastening device itself. Further,the device keeps its shape so as not to lose its engaging anddisengaging function without readily melting its engaging head portionof the male fastener even at a time of awkward ironing. The presentinvention also has an object to provide a method of manufacturing thesame.

As mentioned above, in order to integrally mold a synthetic resinproduct on a tape, it is necessary that molten resin be cooled andsolidified in a desired shape after expanding to the front and the backof the tape. Accordingly, as is disclosed in the U.S. patent mentionedabove, an attachment hole is previously formed in the tape and themolten resin is introduced to the front and the back of the tape via thehole, so that the product is molded and integrated thereto. An excellentpoint of the U.S. patent exists in that a suitable corrugation isgenerated at a peripheral edge portion of the attachment hole in thetape as mentioned above so as to secure a strength of adhesion and inthat the molten resin is smoothly flown onto the front and the back ofthe tape. Then, in order to generate a suitable corrugation in theperipheral edge portion of the attachment hole, the peripheral edgeportion of the attachment hole is vertically nipped at their front backside within a cavity of the mold at a desired interval by pin members.In order that the molten resin is smoothly flown onto the front and theback of the tape, the molten resin at an injection time is introducedinto the cavity directing to the peripheral edge of the attachment holeof the tape.

The inventors of the present invention paid attention to these excellentpoints obtained by the invention of the U.S. patent as mentioned aboveand repeatedly performed various studies and trials. As a result, theycould succeed in not only a simple improvement of the invention of theU.S. patent as mentioned above, but also in an invention of a fasteningdevice with tape having a novel and excellent function which could notbe even imaged at all including the EP patent as mentioned above, and ofa method of manufacturing the same.

The present invention relates to such a fastening device with tape asmentioned above.

In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention, which is abasic structure, there is provided a fastening device with tapecomprising: a synthetic resin first member integrally molded on frontand back surfaces of a tape having at least one attachment hole in sucha manner as to hold an entire peripheral edge portion of the attachmenthole of the tape and has an opening portion at a center thereof; and asynthetic resin second member attached to the first member along aninner peripheral surface of at least the opening portion of the firstmember and having an engaging portion to be engaged with an opposingfastener. In accordance with a second aspect of the present invention,which is a basic method of manufacturing the fastening device with tape,there is provided a method of manufacturing a fastening device with tapefor fixing an fastener to an attachment hole of the tape having at leastone attachment hole, comprising steps of: holding an entire theperipheral edge portion of the attachment hole and integrally molding asynthetic resin first member having an opening portion at a centerthereof on front and back surfaces of the tape; and integrally attachinga synthetic resin second member to an opening portion of the firstmember, the second member having an engaging portion to be engaged withand disengaged from an opposing fastening device. In this case, anattachment of the second member is not limited to an integral molding asmentioned later.

In the present invention, in order to mold and integrate the firstmember with a portion of forming the attachment hole in the tape, if theperipheral edge portion of the attachment hole in the tape does notbecome corrugated as mentioned above, the molding can be sufficientlyperformed only by closing a mold and injecting the molten resin inaccordance with a normal method after positioning the attachment hole ata predetermined position of a first-member-molding cavity. However, asmentioned above, if the corrugation of the peripheral edge portion ofthe attachment hole is too large due to the pressure of the introducedresin within the cavity, for example, an intermediate member having anopening portion at a center thereof may be further interposed betweenthe first member and the second member, and the second member may beintegrally mounted along an inner peripheral surface of the openingportion of the opening portion of the intermediate member. Inmanufacturing the device with a structure as mentioned above, theintermediate member having an opening portion at a center portionthereof is preferably integrally molded along the opening portion of thefirst member, prior to molding the second member. In this case, theintermediate member may be constituted of two or more layers.

In the case of interposing the intermediate member, since a rigidity ofthe peripheral edge of the opening portion of the first member isincreased after molded, even when the tape is exposed on a surface ofthe first member, the peripheral edge of the attachment hole does notbecome corrugated when the intermediate member is molded. Further, sincethe exposed portion of the tape is coated by the intermediate member,the tape is not exposed on a surface of the fastening device as a finalproduct, so that no trouble occurs in an outer appearance and a functionas the fastening device. Accordingly, in the case of interposing theintermediate member between the first member and the second member, itis preferable that the first member is molded thin at a predeterminedarea extending in a diametrical direction along the peripheral edgeportion of the attachment hole of the tape to form a thin portion, andis molded thick at a thick portion continuous to an outer periphery ofthe thin portion. Thus, the tape is allowed to be exposed on the thinportion.

Accordingly, in general, in order to mold and integrate the first memberwith the peripheral edge portion of the attachment hole in the tape, itis preferable that the peripheral edge portion of the attachment hole inthe tape is suitably corrugated as described in the specification of theU.S. patent mentioned above, in order to improve a strength of adhesionbetween the tape and the first member.

Then, in accordance with the present invention, in the same manner asthat of the U.S. patent as mentioned above, it is preferable that theattachment hole of the tape is positioned within a first-member-moldingcavity having a plurality of nipping members which nip the peripheraledge portion of the attachment hole of the tape from front and back sidethereof, and the peripheral edge portion of the attachment hole isnipped by the nipping members, and molten resin is introduced within thecavity.

Further preferably, the molten resin may be introduced to a centerportion of the attachment hole, and then introduced to a guide passageextending in a radial manner or a straight manner and introduced theperipheral edge portion of the attachment hole of the tape,substantially parallel to the tape. The guide passage comprises aso-called gate, and directs the introduced the molten resin insubstantially parallel to the tape nipped by the nipping members withinthe cavity and to the peripheral edge of the attachment hole.Accordingly, the molten resin introduced into the cavity can flow ontothe front and back surfaces of the tape while generating a propercorrugation in the peripheral edge portion of the attachment hole in thetape.

Further, in accordance with the present invention, in order to properlycontrol the corrugation of the peripheral edge of the attachment hole inthe tape, the shape and the arrangement of the nipping members may bedecided. Specifically, each of the nipping members may have a front endnipping portion and a corrugation control portion, and the front endnipping portion is positioned at an intermediate position between aperipheral edge of the attachment hole of the tape and an outerperipheral edge of the first member after molded or at a position towardthe outer peripheral edge from the intermediate position, nipping thetape, the corrugation control portions are opposed to each other and aretapered in such a manner as to gradually increase a gap with respect tothe tape toward a center of the attachment hole from the front endnipping portion. The corrugation control portion is preferably a tapersurface. A magnitude of the gap is suitably changed in accordance withthe material of the tape.

In the case of disposing the nipping members in the first-member-moldingcavity with the structure and the arrangement as mentioned above, thecorrugated deformation amount can be controlled at a portion near theperipheral edge portion of the attachment hole in the tape, by changinga taper angle of the corrugation control portion in accordance with thematerial of the tape as well as restricting movement and deformation ofthe tape between the respective front end nipping portions by the frontend nipping portions arranged at the intermediate position between theperipheral edge of the attachment hole in the tape and the outerperiphery of the first member after molded or toward the outer peripheryfrom the intermediate position.

The most remarkable point of the present invention exists in a that thefirst member and the second member are separately structured. The firstmember is, as mentioned above, directly formed in the tape in anintegral manner, while the second member is integrally attached to theopening portion of the first member or the opening portion of theintermediate member molded on the tape in accordance with the properlyrequired shape. The first member can be freely molded without beingrestricted by the shape and the material of the second member as far asit has the opening portion. The basic shape of the first member cancommonly correspond to the second member having various shapes.Accordingly, it is possible to previously manufacture a lot of tapeshaving a multiplicity of first members with the same shapes integrallymolded therewith and integrally molde the second members in necessaryshapes and numbers to the first members serving as bases, simultaneouslyor independently.

In this case, the tape in accordance with the present invention employsall the tapes formed by all kinds of textile, knit or non woven fabricor various kinds of synthetic resin film or sheet and natural orsynthetic leather. The materials may be either natural or synthetic.Further, for the synthetic resin material to be used for the firstmember, the intermediate member and the second member, constituting theengaging and disengaging device mentioned above, any thermoplasticsynthetic resin used for a general molded product may be employed. Forexample, it may be polyethylene, polyester, polyamide, polypropylene,polystyrene, polyurethane, polyvinyl, polyacetal or the like. However,it is desirable that the first member, the second member and theintermediate member have an affinity with respect to each other.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the secondmembers can be attached to he first member in various manners.

The attachment of the second member to the first member in accordancewith the present invention is not limited to fixing. The first memberand the second member may be attached to each other in a relativelyrotatable manner. In this case, for example, the first member and thesecond member can be achieved by molding synthetic resin materialshaving no affinity with each other.

The attachment method may include preliminarily molding the secondmember independently; inserting a preliminarily molded product into theopening portion of the first member; and pressing and heating thepreliminarily molded product by a heating body so as to deform a part ofthe second member and to be rotatably engaged with the opening portion.For example, if the second member is a fastening member of the malefastener, after the second member is inserted into a central openingportion of the ring-like first member, the inserted end portion of thesecond member is pressed so as to be plastically deformed due toheating, and then the second member is engaged with the opening portionof the first member so that a slide rotation can be performed. Thefastening device thus manufactured can be easily adjusted afterfinishing all the engagements, even in a case that a direction of oneengaged fastener is different from that of the other opposing engagedfastener when the two fasteners are engaged with each other.

Further, the second member may be integrally attached to the firstmember by molding. This molding can be achieved by a normal insertmolding for molding the second member by injection molding after thefirst member with the tape is set in the mold for the second member. Inthe molding of the second member, it is desirable to mold and integratethe second member along the peripheral edge of the opening portion ofthe first member, after the molded passage, which is molded a time ofmolding the first member by the guide passage guiding the molten resininto the cavity in a radial or straight manner, is broken and removed,or with the molded passage being remained. As mentioned above, in thecase of breaking and removing the molded passage, a breakage burr isleft on an inner peripheral surface of the opening portion of the firstmember. Accordingly, since the breakage burr exists on a boundarysurface with respect to the second member which covers the burr, orsince the molded passage is buried in the inner portion of the secondmember, a strength of adhesion between the first member and the secondmember is significantly increased.

Alternatively, the second member may be integrally attached to the firstmember by welding. The manufacturing method for the device with suchstructure may include steps of preliminarily molding the second member,inserting the preliminarily molded product into the opening portion ofthe first member, and integrally welding the preliminarily formedproduct and the opening portion of the first member. In this case, thepreliminarily molded product means a molded product preliminarily moldedin a shape of the second member with a deforming portion added thereto.

Alternatively, the manufacturing method may include steps of:preliminarily molding the second member independently; inserting thepreliminarily molded product into the opening portion of the firstmember; pressing a high-temperature member to the preliminarily moldedproduct; and welding and deforming a part of the preliminarily moldedproduct by the pressing so as to integrally weld to the opening portion.Or, the method may include steps of: preliminarily molding the secondmember independently; inserting the preliminarily molded product intothe opening portion of the first member; and pressing, melting anddeforming a part of the preliminarily molded product by ultrasonic orhigh-frequency heating means so as to integrally weld to the openingportion.

The second member may be integrally attached to the first member by anadhesive. The manufacturing method for the device with such structureincludes a step of: molding the second member independently; insertingthe second member into the opening portion of the first member; andintegrally bonding the second member and the opening portion by anadhesive.

For securing a strength of adhesion between the first member and thesecond member as mentioned above, it is preferable that the first memberhas a certain shape of the opening portion. Specifically, the innerperipheral surface of the opening of the first member may preferablyhave a recessed notch portion, an uneven portion or a protrudingportion. When the recessed notch portion, the uneven portion or theprotruding portion is integrated with the second member, an excellentanchor function can be obtained so that a desired strength of adhesioncan be secured.

That is, the first member and the second member may be made ofequivalent materials or different materials. Further preferably, thefirst member and the second member may be in different colors, and havedifferent hardness, in which case it is preferable that the secondmember is softer than the first member.

The structures of the device as mentioned above have been achieved bythe present invention for the first time. That is, in the same manner asthat in the inventions of the U.S. patents and of the EP patents asmentioned above, various shapes could be selected of the fasteningdevices with tapes at the stage of designing the cavity. However, for asingle fastening device for example, it is general to mix a pigment orthe like in the resin material to be a single color, so, in order toapply a plurality of colors thereto, it is necessary to apply a printingor a coloring so that it is nearly impossible to execute suchmulticolored device in view of productivity and economical performance.

On the contrary, in accordance with the present invention, the fasteningdevice is not limited to two kinds of members comprising the first andsecond members. The manufacturing method may include a step ofintegrally molding an intermediate member having an opening portion at acenter portion thereof along the opening portion of the first member,prior to molding the second member, and further may include a step ofintegrally molding an intermediate member constituted of two or morelayers and having an opening portion at a center portion thereof,between the first member and the second member. Thus, a plurality ofmaterials and colors can be selected in a single fastening device.

For example, it is possible to set the material of at least the secondmember softer than the material of any other member, and further, it ispossible to apply various colors to the first member, the second memberand at least one intermediate layer. In this case, an optional color canbe generally obtained by mixing a pigment to a raw material resin inorder to apply such colors, but it is also possible to apply dyeingafter molding.

The coloring can be performed by using dyes. For example, it is possibleto dye each of the tape, the first member, the second member and theintermediate member in an optional color with dyes, by making at leastone of the tape, the first member, the second member and theintermediate member of materials having different dyeing property. Asmentioned above, when the first member is dyed by dyes after molded, itis possible to previously manufacture a large amount of tapes with firstmembers by using colorless raw material resin in which no pigment or thelike is mixed, and then to dye a predetermined number of the tapes withfirst members among them by the dyes as required, so that productivityis improved and its production control can be easily performed.

The second member may be a male fastening member protruding from asurface of the tape and having an engaging head portion to be engagedwith and disengaged from a female engaging and disengaging portion of afemale fastening member of a snap fastener. Or, the second member may bea female fastening member of the snap fastener having a female engagingportion to be engaged with and disengaged from a male fastening memberof the snap fastener. Of course, the male fastener and the femalefastener of the snap fastener are not to be used independently, however,the male fastener or the female fastener of the snap fastener are notalways used in combination with the opposing female fastener or and themale fastener. It is of course possible that the male fastener and thefemale fastener in accordance with the present invention can be used incombination with the other general opposing fastener.

It is further preferable that the base member and the male fasteningmember as first and second members as mentioned above may be made ofindependent resin materials and the material constituting the malefastening member may have a melting point higher than the materialconstituting the base member. In accordance with the structure asmentioned above, for example, even when the iron having a hightemperature is accidentally brought into contact with the male fastener,the male fastener is prevented from melting, and being deformed orpressed to breakage since its engaging head portion outwardly protrudingfrom the base member of the male fastener has a melting point higherthan that of the base member.

In the normal ironing, since the high temperature range is about 185°C., as the material for constituting the fastening member, it ispreferable that the melting point is more than 185° C. As a most typicalexample, polyamide resin can be used as a material constituting the malefastening member, and a generally used polyacetal resin is used for amaterial constituting the base member. However, the melting point of themale fastening member should of course be changed in accordance with thematerial of the tape and the other members to which the male fastener isattached. Further, when the resin material having a low melting point isused for the base material and an affinity with respect to the malefastening member is required, it is necessary to select the material ofthe male fastener in relation to the base member. Accordingly, in such acase, it is possible to set the melting point of the male fasteningmember to be equal to or less than 185° C. In such a special product, noproblem arise when a proper iron temperature is selected withoutperforming a careless iron operation.

In a basic method for manufacturing the fastening device with tape asmentioned above includes steps of holding an entire peripheral edgeportion of the attachment hole and integrally molding a synthetic resinbase member having an opening portion at a center thereof on front andback surfaces of the tape, integrally molding a synthetic resin malefastening member having an engaging portion which is engaged with anddisengaged from an opposing fastener to an opening portion of the basemember, and making the male fastening member of a material having amelting point higher than the base member.

The intermediate member having the opening portion at the center thereofmay be further interposed between the first member and the secondmember, and the second member is integrally attached along the innerperipheral surface of the opening portion. The method of attaching thesecond member to the intermediate member is the same as the method ofattaching the second member to the first member, as mentioned above.

In accordance with the present invention, at least one fastening deviceis attached to a single tape in the manner mentioned above. Since it ispossible to optionally arrange the fasteners of the fastening device onthe tape and it is possible to optionally mix the male and femalefasteners, it is possible to use the device in a wide range of field.The typical arrangement is that a plurality of second members arearranged in a longitudinal direction of the tape at an equal interval.At this time, the second members may be either a male fastening memberor a female fastening member. In a case of the fastening device withtape in which the same kinds of fasteners are attached at the samepitch, it can be applied to articles of clothing and bags as a normalsnap fastener, and further can be applied to a header tape attachedalong an upper end edge of a curtain by sewing or the like.

Further, it can be applied to a hanging device for curtains, to which anattaching member to be attached to and detached from a curtain runner isattached in a longitudinal direction thereof at a predetermined intervalalong a side edge of the fastening device with tape as mentioned above.In the case of using the header tape with the fastening device mentionedabove in combination with the handing device for the curtains with thefastening device, since it is necessary that the header tape and thefastening device attached to the hanging device be mutually engaged anddisengaged, one should become a male fastener, while the other is afemale fastener.

In accordance with the present invention, in the case that the fastenersare arranged at the same pitch, it is possible to mix a plurality ofsecond members having male or female engaging portions. As a typical useexample for such mixed arrangement, there is a clothing for a baby inwhich a plurality of second members each having a male engaging portionare arranged at a half portion of the same tape in a longitudinaldirection thereof and the same number of second members each having thesame number of a female engaging portion are arranged at the other halfportion.

On the other hand, it is possible that at least the second membersarranged at the endmost portion of the tape have male engaging portionsamong a plurality of second members arranged on the same tape. That is,most of the second members arranged at the other portions than theportion of the second members having the male engaging portions havefemale engaging portions, so that the fastening device with tape havingsuch as structure can function as an independent product by itself. As atypical example, it can be a pull of a slider or alongitudinally-adjustable band or a slide fastener. It can be realizedonly by the present invention to mount the male fasteners and the femalefasteners on the same tape.

In accordance with the present invention, each first members integrallymolded on the tape is not always molded in correspondence to a singleattachment hole formed in the tape. For example, it is possible to molda single first member in two or more adjacent attachment holes on thetape. Further, the adjacent two or more attachment holes may be arrangedin a widthwise direction of the tape. In accordance with such astructure as mentioned above, since it is possible to obtain variousshapes such as large-patterned designs and shapes having various kindsof designs such as animals, automotive vehicles or the like, so that afastening device rich in a design as well as a strength of adhesion canbe obtained.

Further, in accordance with the present invention, a plurality of secondmembers may be arranged in a longitudinal direction of the tape at aselected desired interval, in which a second member having a maleengaging portion is arranged in at least one end of the tape, and aplurality of second members comprising male or female fastening membersare arranged in a mixed manner, and in which at least one engagingportion other than that of the second member having the male engagingportion at the end of the tape is protruded on the tape surface in anopposite direction to the protruding of the engaging portion of the malesecond member at the end of the tape. As a particular use thereof, thefastening device with the tape can be adhered to the clothes byinserting the male fastening member attached the tape end of thefastening device with tape to an opening joining portion of the clothesor the like, and the tape is folded back to engaging the male fasteningmember with the opposing female fastening member. At this time, theother male fastening members protrude on the opposite surface of thetape. These male fastening members are engaged with and disengaged fromthe female fastening members attached to the other opening joiningportion of the clothes, so that the fastening device with tape can beused as a fastener button.

It is possible to manufacture an fastening device with tape having asecond member comprising a base portion to be integrally adhered to theopening portion of the first member, and a ring-like string-passingportion standing from a surface of the base portion. In this case, thefastening device is attached to a back surface a curtain in a verticaldirection, and a string having a stopper member at its one end isinserted into a plurality of ring-like string-passing holes. The curtaincan be opened and closed by pulling or releasing the other end of thestring member. Further, in the case of attaching the fastening devicewith tape along the opening portion of a saccate-like bag, together witha string, it can be used as an opening and closing device for theopening portion of the bag.

Further, it is possible to manufacture a fastening device with tape inwhich the second member comprises a base portion integrally adhered tothe opening portion of the first member, and a hook portion standing ona surface of the base portion. In this case, if a female fastener isprepared in which the second member separately manufactured is adheredto the opening portion of the first member in fitted state, and a ringportion stands on a surface of the base portion, by combining the bothmale and female fasteners, it can be used as a hooking device for, forexample, a brassiere, baby clothes or the like.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view showing an embodiment of afastening device with tape in which female and male fasteners inaccordance with the present invention are alternately arranged andadhered on a single tape;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view showing an example of a productshape when the female fastener as a base member in the embodimentmentioned above is within a forming metal mold;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary perspective view of the male fastener on thetape in which a second member consituting a male fastening member isintegrally molded to the first member constituting a female fasteningmember;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of a mechanism for removing a molded gatewhen the male fastener engages with the molded female fastener;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary cross sectional view showing an example of aninner structure and an example of a molding mechanism of a mold for thefirst member in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary cross sectional view showing an example of astructure and an example of a molding mechanism of a mold when thesecond member is integrally molded with an opening portion of the firstmember;

FIG. 8 is a cross sectional view showing an example of a male fastenerin accordance with the present invention in which a molded gate isburied in and integrated with an inner portion thereof;

FIG. 9 is a cross sectional view showing an example of the first memberin accordance with the present invention in which an unevenness isprovided on an inner peripheral surface of an opening portion thereof;

FIG. 10 is a cross sectional view of a fastener on a tape in which afemale fastening member as a second member is integrally molded to anopening portion of the first member;

FIG. 11 is a cross sectional view showing a preferred example of acavity of a mold for the first member in accordance with the presentinvention;

FIG. 12 is a cross sectional view showing a shape of the first memberintegrated on a tape by the mold;

FIG. 13 is a cross sectional view, partly in side elevation, which showsan example of a shape before the second member is mounted to theindependently molded first member in accordance with the presentinvention;

FIG. 14 is a cross sectional view showing an example of a shape and amounting mechanism of the fastener on a tape after the first member andthe second member are attached to each other due to a thermaldeformation;

FIG. 15 is a cross sectional view showing an arrangement of each of thefirst and second members at a first stage of ultrasonic welding for thefirst member and the second member;

FIG. 16 is a cross sectional view showing a state of the welding;

FIG. 17 is a fragmentary perspective view showing an example of femaleand male fasteners with tape in which a first member and a second memberin accordance with the present invention are set in different colors andan elastic material is used for the second member;

FIG. 18 is a cross sectional view of the male fastener to which a secondmember having an elasticity is attached;

FIG. 19 is a plan view of the male fastener which is shown by partlycut;

FIGS. 20A through 20D are explanatory views for a process ofmanufacturing female and male fasteners having a first member integrallymolded with respect to a tape in accordance with another embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIGS. 21A and 21B are explanatory views for a process of manufacturing amale fastener in which an intermediate member is to be interposedbetween a first member and a second member;

FIG. 22 is a cross sectional view showing another embodiment of femaleand male fasteners with tapes in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 23 is a cross sectional view showing an engaging state of thefemale and male fasteners;

FIG. 24 is a fragmentary perspective view of the female and malefasteners;

FIGS. 25A and 25B are plan views showing another example of shapes offemale and male fasteners;

FIG. 26 is a plan view showing another example of a shape of a fasteningdevice in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 27 is a cross sectional view showing an inner structure of thefemale and male fasteners;

FIG. 28 is a fragmentary front view showing an example of clothes towhich the fastening device is mounted;

FIG. 29 is a cross sectional view of female and male fasteners using amagnetic material for a second member of the present invention;

FIG. 30 is a cross sectional view showing an engaging state of thefasteners;

FIG. 31 is a cross sectional view of a male fastener in which anintermediate member interposed between the first member and the secondmember is made of a magnetic material;

FIG. 32 is a view showing an example of a structure of a female fastenerbutton constituting a fastening device with tape in accordance with thepresent invention;

FIG. 33 is a side view of a male fastener button;

FIG. 34 is a cross sectional view showing a manner in which the fastenerbutton is used;

FIG. 35 is a fragmentary front view of the clothes to which the fastenerbutton is mounted;

FIG. 36 is an explanatory view for a process of manufacturing anadhesive tape with respect to various kinds of articles by the fasteningdevice with tape in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 37 is a perspective view of a slider for slide fastener in whichthe tape is used as a pull for the slider;

FIG. 38 is a perspective view showing a manner in which the tape is usedas a longitudinally adjustable fastening band for various kinds of bags;

FIG. 39 is a perspective view of rompers to which the fastening devicein accordance with the present invention is applied;

FIGS. 40A through 40C are plan views showing examples of the fasteningdevice with tape in accordance with the present invention when appliedto the rompers;

FIGS. 41A and 41B are explanatory views showing another example of thefastening device with tape in accordance with the present invention whenapplied to the rompers;

FIG. 42 is a fragmentary perspective view showing an example in whichthe fastening device with tape is applied to a header tape for a curtainand a hanging tape;

FIG. 43 is a explanatory view showing a construction of an articlehanging device to which the fastening device in accordance with thepresent invention is applied;

FIG. 44 is a perspective view showing a manner in which thearticle-hanging device is used;

FIG. 45 is a perspective view showing, in a manufacturing order, anexample of a construction of a curtain-opening-and-closing device towhich the fastening device in accordance with the present invention isapplied;

FIG. 46 is a view, partly in cross section, of thecurtain-opening-and-closing device;

FIG. 47 is a perspective view showing a manner in which thecurtain-opening-and-closing device is used;

FIG. 48 is a side cross sectional view of FIG. 47;

FIG. 49 is a fragmentary perspective view showing another embodiment ofthe fastening device with tape in accordance with the present invention;and

FIG. 50 is a cross sectional view of the fastening device in an engagingand disengaging state.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

It is one of the most characteristic point of a fastening device withtape in accordance with this invention that each of female and malefasteners of the device has at least a first member and a second member.According to a manufacturing method of the present invention, the firstmember is previously molded integrally to an attachment hole in thetape, and then the second member is attached to an opening portion ofthe first member. Further, the first member can be molded in variousshapes as far as it is provided with an opening portion at its center.Furthermore, a shape of the second member does not affect the shape ofthe first member, so that one type of the first members can be commonlyapplied if the second members are altered with their shapes ormaterials. With such structure, it is possible to integrally attach arequired number of second members in a required arrangement to a singletape simultaneously or independently, whether it is different fromanother such as a male fastening member or a female fastening member.Furthermore, the second member can be made of material or can be in acolor different from that of the first member. These could not beachieved by a conventional fastening device with tape of this kind, asalready mentioned above.

These characteristic features of this invention will be manifested bydescription on the embodiments as below.

Hereinafter, embodiments of a fastening device with tape in accordancewith the present invention and a method of manufacturing the fasteningdevice will be described in detail with reference to the accompanyingdrawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment showing amale fastener and a female fastener of an fastening device with tape inaccordance with the present invention being integrally mounted on a tapein a parallel manner.

As shown in FIG. 1, as a typical embodiment of the fasteners mounted tothe fastening device with tape in accordance with the present invention,there are a female fastener 1 and a male fastener 2. Further, as anotherexample there can be an eyelet, a string-passing device for opening andclosing a curtain which will be described later, or the like. Though abasic principle of a method of manufacturing this device is based on amanufacturing method as disclosed in the specification of U.S. Pat. No.2,821,764, various shapes and materials can be selected to and variouscolors can applied to the respective fasteners 1 and 2 each having acharacteristic feature according to the present invention, which couldnot obtained by the invention of the above U.S. patent, while they canbe integrally mounted on the tape.

That is, as is described in detail later, a plurality of attachmentholes 3 are previously formed on a long tape T at a predeterminedinterval, then the tape T is supplied to a mold. Thereafter, a ring-likebase member 10, which is one of constituting members of the femalefastener 1 and/or the male fastener 2, is integrally molded on front andback surfaces of the tape T in such a manner as to hold a peripheraledge of the attachment hole 3 by injection molding. Here, the basemember 10 constitutes a first member in the present invention. Inmolding the base member 10, likewise a molding technique disclosed inthe specification of the U.S. patent as mentioned above, tape-supportingmembers (pins) are provided to project in such a manner as to oppose toeach other in a cavity for molding the base member in the mold. In astate that the mold is closed and the peripheral edge portion of theattachment hole 3 in the tape T is nipped at its front and back sides bythe tape-supporting members, molten resin is introduced to theperipheral edge of the attachment hole 3 substantially in such a manneras to be parallel to the tape T. At this time, pressure of introducingthe resin is uniformly distributed to the front and the back of the tapeT, and the synthetic resin base member 10 is firmly adhered to andintegrally molded with the peripheral edge portion of the attachmenthole 3 in the tape T while generating a suitable corrugation phenomenonat the peripheral edge portion of the attachment hole 3.

Next, the female or male fastening member 11 or 12 as a second member isintegrally molded to the each of the base members 10 integrally moldedwith the tape T, on the basis of the molding technique described in theU.S. patent as mentioned above. In the illustrated embodiment of FIG. 1,an inner peripheral surface of a central opening portion 10 a of thebase member 10 is formed in a shape as a normal female engaging anddisengaging surface, in which case the base member 10 can be used as thefemale fastener as it is without newly attaching a female fasteningmember 11. Then, the male engaging members 12 are integrally molded onan alternate one of a plurality of base members 10 integrally molded ina longitudinal direction on the same tape T at the same pitch and havinga common shape. Thus, the female fastener 1 and the male fastener 2 arealternately mounted to the same tape T. Such arrangement as mentionedabove cannot be efficiently manufactured by the conventional technique,and it is apparent that the present invention can manufacture a malefastener 2 by utilizing the conventional general female fastener withtape.

FIG. 2 shows a representative shape of a base member on a tape inaccordance with the present embodiment of this invention immediatelyafter the base member 10 is integrally molded to the peripheral edgeportion of the front and the back of the attachment hole 3 in the tapeT. As shown in FIG. 2, the opening portion 10 a of the base member 10 isnot completely formed at the center portion thereof. In its molding, anouter shape of the base member 10 wholly shows a flower-like shape inwhich four arch-like portions are connected at their outer periphery.The opening portion 10 a is arranged at the center portion, and in anintermediate portion in a direction of the thickness, the attachmenthole 3 of the tape T extends near the peripheral edge portion of theopening portion 10 a, so that the base member 10 is integrally adheredto the tape T so as to hold the attachment hole 3 of the tape T.Further, also in the present embodiment, in the same manner as that ofthe invention of the above-mentioned U.S. patent, four molding holes 10b which extend in the direction of the front and the back thereof andare formed on the front and back surfaces of substantially the centerportion of the arch-like area of the base member 10 by thetape-supporting members, which will be described later, projecting intothe cavity. The molding holes 10 b are formed in such a manner that thetape T crosses the middle thereof.

In the base member 10 at the molding time in accordance with the presentembodiment, a molded runner 14 molded by a molten resin passage of themold comprising a runner 103 a, a sub runner 103 b and a gate 106 (seeFIG. 6), and a molded gate 16 are simultaneously molded. An end of themolded gate 14 is connected to substantially a center of a bottomsurface 10 c′ of a recessed notch portion 10 c formed on an innerperipheral surface of the central opening portion 10 a of the basemember 10. The molded runner 14 is automatically broken and separatedfrom the molded gate 16 at a time of opening the mold as mentionedbelow, and further, the molded gate 16 connected to the base member 10is automatically broken and removed when engaged with the male fastener2 as mentioned below, so that the opening portion 10 a having a completeshape is formed.

FIGS. 3 and 4 show a structure of the male fastener 2 with tape which isintegrally mounted to the tape T and is provided with all of thecharacteristic portions of the present invention. As is understood fromthe drawings, the male fastener 2 mentioned above is composed of a basemember 10 as a first member of the present invention and a malefastening member 12 as a second member. In the embodiment asillustrated, the male fastening member 12 is composed of a base portion12 a fitted to and integrated with the opening portion 10 a of the basemember 10, a column portion 12 b standing from the base portion 12 a andan engaging head portion 12 c comprising an engaging and disengagingportion formed in a front end of the column portion 12 b. In accordancewith the present embodiment, the column portion 12 b and the engaginghead portion 12 c are separated into right and left portions by a splitgroove 12 d extending from a middle of the column portion 12 b to afront end of the engaging head portion 12 c in an axial direction.Further, when the engaging head portion 12 c is viewed from its uppersurface, a whole shape of the head portion 12 c including the splitgroove 12 d assumes an oval shape having a shorter diameter portion in alongitudinal direction of the split groove 12 d, and is formed in ashape expanding to a lateral direction of the column portion 12 d. Inaccordance with the present embodiment, the male fastening member 12having such a shape as mentioned above is integrally molded so as to beinserted into the opening portion 10 a of the base member 10.

In the base member 10 as a first member in the present embodiment,various improvements which could not be expected in the invention of theU.S. patent are added.

As is apparent from FIG. 2, in accordance with the present embodiment,in order to make a cross sectional area of its connecting portion withthe base member 10 as small as possible, the shape of the molded gate 16is formed to be a wedge shape as a whole. Accordingly, when insertingthe engaging head portion 12 c of the male fastening member 12 into theopening portion 10 a of the base member 10, as shown in FIG. 5, themolded gate 16 connected and integrated with the opening portion 10 acan be simply broken and removed due to an inserting force of the malefastening member 12. By employing the gate shape as mentioned above,when sending the male and female fasteners with tapes in an engagedstate at a time of their shipping, not only it is possible to omit atrimming process at a later process which was necessary in the inventionof the U.S. patent, but also the molded gate 16 can be automaticallyremoved at the same time of engaging the male and female fasteners withtapes.

Further, in the present embodiment, the recessed notch portion 10 cformed on a part of the inner peripheral surface of the opening portion10 a is formed so as to be recessed toward two opposing molding holes 10b among four molding holes 10 b formed by the tape-supporting members,so that the molded gate 16 and the two molded holes 10 b are on the samestraight line.

In a case that the base member 10 is used as a female fastener 1 as itis in the present embodiment, a burr made by breaking and removing themolded gate 16 (a gate burr 16 a) is formed on the bottom surface 10 c′of the recessed notch portion 10 c as mentioned above, so that no burrsdo not remain in the peripheral surface 10 a′ of the opening portionwhich directly contact with the engaging head portion 12 c at a time ofengaging and disengaging between the peripheral surface 10 a′ of thebase member 10 as a female fastening member and the engaginghead-portion 12 c of the male fastening member 12. Further, a trimmingas in the invention of the U.S. patent at the later process can beomitted. Furthermore, the gate burr 16 a can hardly be seen inappearance. Still further, due to an existence of the recessed notchportion 10 c, a connection of the inner peripheral surface 10 a′ of theopening portion 10 a in a ring shape is partly broken, so that anengaging and disengaging operation of the male fastener 2 can besmoothly performed.

Further, by setting the connecting portion of the molded gate 16 withthe bottom surface 10 c′ of the recessed notch portion 10 csubstantially at a center of the bottom surface 10 c′ as well as formingthe molded gate 16 on the same straight line connecting between a centerof the opening portion 10 a and the molded holes 10 b, pressure ofintroducing the molten resin into the mold cavity is positively directedto the peripheral edge portion of the attachment hole 3 in the tape Tand also positively directed to the front and the back surfaces of thetape T and the tape-supporting members (pins) projecting into thecavity. Thus, it becomes possible to quickly expand a fluidization ofthe molten resin to a whole of the periphery of the attachment hole 3 inthe tape T, so that it is possible to realize a proper corrugation shapein the peripheral edge portion of the attachment hole in the tape T inthe same manner as the invention of the U.S. patent as mentioned above.

Also, in a case that the base member 10 is used as a first member of thepresent invention for manufacturing the male fastener 2, the recessednotch portion 10 c is significantly effective. In the male fastener 2 asshown in FIGS. 3 and 4, attachment of the male fastening member 12 tothe base member 10 is performed by integral molding. However, at a timeof molding the male fastening member 12, since a part of the malefastening member 12 fills the recessed notch portion 10 c, a lockingfunction between the base member 10 and the male fastening member 12 isadditionally achieved, so that a strength of its adhesion is furtherimproved. Further, even when the molded gate 16 is left at the openingportion 10 a of the base member 10, the male fastening member 12 can bemolded in the opening portion 10 a. Since the molded gate 16 is buriedwithin the male fastening member 12 as a frame member as shown in FIG.8, it is possible to improve the strength of adhesion. In this case,since the shape of the molded gate 16 is not broken and removed from theopening portion 10 a, it may not be limited to the wedge shape asmentioned above.

FIG. 6 shows an example of a mold for integrally molding the base member10 on the tape T. In this example, the mold comprises a first mold (amovable mold) 100 and a second mold (a fixed mold) 150, and the firstmold 100 is further composed of three-layered plates 101 to 103relatively movable in a vertical direction. The upper plate 101 is amovable side mounting plate provided in a base frame so as to be movablein a vertical direction by a ascending and descending means (not shown)such as a hydraulic pressure cylinder or the like, and the intermediateplate 102 and the lower plate 103 independently move in a verticaldirection with respect to the upper plate as a movable side mountingplate 101 in the same manner. On the contrary, the second mold 150 iscomposed of an independent plate fixed to a machine table.

A substantially upper half of a sprue bush 104 in which a sprue 104 a isformed is fitted and fixed to the movable side mounting plate 101 inaccordance with a normal method, and a substantially lower half of thesprue bush 104 is slidablly attached inn a fitting hole of a stripperplate 102 as an intermediate plate. A runner 103 a communicated with thesprue 104 a is formed in the lower plate 103 so as to be perpendicularto a moving direction of the tape T, and a sub runner 103 b extending toa vertical downward direction is formed at an end of the runner 103 a.In this case, a runner lock pin 108 is mounted in the movable sidemounting plate 101 and the stripper plate 102 on a line extending fromthe sub runner 103 b.

At the lower end of the sub runner 103 b, a gate 106 horizontallyextending via a resin storage portion 105 in a straight manner is formedon a parting surface 151 of the fixed mold 150 as a second mold. Inaccordance with this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, the gate 106comprises two right and left portions extending in a straight mannerwith the resin storage portion 105 being as a center, a shape of each ofthe gate 106 is formed in a wedge shape. Thus, the gate 16 is aso-called pin point gate formed such that its cross section becomessmaller from the resin storage portion 105 to its front end. The resinstorage portion 105 in the present embodiment is a portion ofintroducing the molten resin, and the gate 106 is a molten resin guidingpassage in accordance with the present invention. Accordingly, themolten resin introducing portion to the base-member-molding cavity 107in accordance with the present invention is a front end portion of thegate 106.

The front end portion of the gate 106 is connected to the cavity 107 forforming the base member 10 also serving as the female fastener 1. Inaccordance with the present embodiment, the molding cavity 107 is formedin the lower plate 103 and in the fixed mold 150 as a second mold withthe parting surface therebetween, and the resin storage portion 105 ispartly formed in the fixed mold 150. Further, a tape inserting passage152 extending in a moving direction of the tape T (a directionperpendicular to a sheet surface of FIG. 6) is formed near the cavity107 of the fixed mold 150.

The base-member-molding cavity 107 comprises a molding space having aflower-like shape having the gate 106 including a resin storage portion105 formed in its center, i.e. a solid portion having a substantiallycircular shape, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. Within the ring-like space ofthe base-member molding cavity 107, four sets of pins 107 a astape-supporting members are arranged so as to project into the cavity107 from upper and lower sides thereof at a phase difference of 90degrees. A gap between each set of the upper and lower pins 107 a is setto be sufficient for nipping the tape T. Further, in accordance with thepresent embodiment, an inserting hole for an eject pin 153 is formedalong an axis of each pin 107 a opposing to the gate 106 of the fixedmold 150 in such as manner as to pass the pin 107 a through, and theeject pin 153 moves within the pin 107 a by aneject-pin-ascending-and-descending means (not shown) in such a manner asto freely slide in a vertical direction.

Further, in accordance with the present embodiment, a connection portionbetween the gate 106 and the cavity 107 is disposed on a straight lineconnecting the gap between each set of the upper and lower pins 107 aand the center of the resin storage portion 105, so that the gate 106 isdirected to the peripheral edge of the attachment hole 3 in the tape Tand the connection portion is formed so as to project into the innerportion of the cavity 107 so that the recessed notch portion 10 clocally recessed in the outer diameter direction in a circular shape ofthe opening portion 10 a of the base member 10 is formed.

Now, the description will be given of a procedure of manufacturing thebase member 10 by the molding apparatus having the mold as structuredabove in accordance with the present embodiment. At first, as shown inFIG. 6, an injection nozzle 154 (not shown) of the injection apparatusis brought into contact with a sprue bush 104 in a state that a whole ofthe mold is closed, adn then an injection is performed. The molten resinis introduced into the base-member-molding cavity 107 through the sprue104 a, the runner 103 a, the sub runner 103 b, the resin storage portion105 and the gate 106.

At a time of injection, the molten resin introduced into the cavity 107flows to the peripheral edge of the attachment hole 3 in the tape T fromthe front end of the gate 106, and fills the whole of the cavity whilecirculating around the periphery of the pins 107 a arranged in such amanner as to oppose in a vertical direction after flowing onto therespective front and the back of the tape T. At this time, the portionof the peripheral edge portion of the attachment hole 3 on the tape Tother than the portions nipped by the pins 107 a is buried in andintegrated with the molten resin while being slightly corrugated by thefluidizing pressure of the resin.

When the injected resin is solidified by cooling, then the movable sidemounting plate 101 and the stripper plate 102 together ascend so as toremove the molded runner 14 together with the molded sub runner 14 afrom the lower plate 103 while supporting it by the runner lock pin 108.At this time, a lower end of the molded sub runner 14 a is broken andseparated from an upper end of the molded resin storage portion 15 dueto the separating force. Next, the stripper plate 102 slightly moves soas to release the support of the molded runner 14 by the runner lock pin108, thereby separating it together with the molded sprue from the mold.

When finishing the separation, the lower plate 103 moves upward so as toopen the mold, substantially at the same time, the eject pin 153slightly moves upward so as to push up the tape T exposed at a middle ofthe molded hole 10 b formed by each supporting pin 107 a, therebypushing out the base member 10 together with the molded gate 16 outsideof the mold. The base member 10 at this time has such a shape as shownin FIG. 2, after the molded sub runner 14 a is broken and separated asshown by an imaginary line in FIG. 2. Since the molded gate 16 left inthe base member 10 is connected at a slight portion to the bottomsurface 10 c′ of the recessed notch portion 10 c formed in the openingportion 10 a of the base member 10, it can be automatically broken andremoved when engaged with the engaging head portion 12 c of the malefastener 2 as mentioned above.

Since the breakage burr of the molded gate 16 (the gate burr 16 a)formed at the this breaking is formed on the bottom surface 10 c′ of therecessed notch portion 10 c, it can hardly be seen from outside.Further, since the burred surface is not formed on the inner peripheralsurface 10 a′ of the opening portion 10 a to be directly engaged withand disengaged from the engaging head portion 12 c of the male fastener12 and since a part of the circular inner peripheral surface 10 a′ isseparated by the recessed notch portion 10 c, its engagement anddisengagement with respect to the male fastener 12 can be more smoothlyperformed.

In this case, in accordance with the present invention, it is possibleto use a mold in which four gates 106 are formed crosswise with theresin storage portion 105 being as a center. In this case, four resinintroducing portions to the base-member-molding cavity 107 are formed insuch a manner as to direct to the peripheral edge of the attachment holeon the tape T. Accordingly, in comparison with the embodiment mentionedabove, the resin can be smoothly fluidized and the base member 10 can bestably molded and integrated with the tape T. Further, since the innerperipheral surface 10 a′ of the opening portion 10 a formed in asubstantially circular shape is uniformly separated into four portionsin a circumferential direction thereof, its engagement and disengagementwith respect to the male fastener 12 can be more smoothly performed thanthe embodiment mentioned above.

FIG. 7 shows a main portion of a mold for integrally molding the malefastener 12 on a tape T′ with a base member obtained by molding andintegrating the base member 10 having a shape as mentioned above. Inaccordance with the embodiment, the base member 10 constitutes a firstmember in accordance with the present invention, and the male fasteningmember 12 integrally molded on the inner peripheral surface 10 a′ of theopening portion 10 a in the base member 10 constitutes a second member.

Here, it is important to give a difference in a melting point betweenthe base member 10 and the male fastener 12.

This kind of fastening device with tape is generally mounted along anopening and closing portion of each of various products comprisingvarious fabrics, synthetic resin sheets, leather, non woven fabrics orthe like. When a final product to which the fastening device with tapeis mounted is shipped, a thermal set is performed by an expert at eachof the products, so that a temperature of thermal set is strictlycontrolled and no special problem is generated. However, when theproduct is taken to a domestic place and it is ironed for example, manykinds of products tend to be simultaneously ironed, and some productsare ironed at a temperature equal to or more than a proper ironingtemperature.

On the other hand, since the fastener itself of the fastening devicewith tape is required to have less influence by environment, easyformability, a suitable rigidity and coefficient of friction, arelatively low cost and the like, polyacetal resin is generally isemployed. However, the polyacetal resin has a low melting point which is179° C. even in a homopolymer having a higher melting point thancopolymer thereof. Thus, the ironing temperature for finishing thenormal clothes or the like frequently becomes equal to or higher thanthe melting point, so that when the iron set at the temperature equal toor higher than the melting point of material of the clothes iserroneously brought into contact with the fastener, especially with themale fastener having an engaging head portion protruding from the tapesurface, it is easily softened or melted and the engaging head portionis deformed or press broken. As a result, the engaging and disengagingfunction as well as the outer appearance is lost.

In general, the iron functions such that the finishing temperature canbe altered at some steps in accordance with the material of the productto be finished. For example, in a case that the product is constitutedof fiber material such as cotton, flax or the like, the ironingtemperature is set to a high temperature of substantially 190° C. Theironing temperature is set to a medium temperature of substantially 160°C. in a case of animal fiber such as sheep wool, silk or the like, orsynthetic fiber having relatively high finishing temperature such asnylon, polyester or the like, and it is set to a temperature ofsubstantially 100° C. in a case of the fiber product made of acrylicresin, polyurethane and the like which is necessary to be finished at alow temperature.

Accordingly, in a case that the finishing temperature of the product bythe iron is higher than the melting point of the fastener, when the ironis accidentally brought into contact with the fastener so as to bepressed, the fastener is melted or softened so as to be easily deformed.If the deformation is given only at the base material portion mentionedabove, a damage is only on the outer appearance. However, when thedeformation is given in the male fastening member 12, the basic engagingfunction as the male fastener is lost.

In this case, as mentioned above, since the base member 10 in accordancewith the present invention can be also used as a female fastener 1, inmanufacturing the fastening device with tape in accordance with thepresent invention, the base member 10 can be commonly molded withrespect to all the male and female fasteners, so that it is preferableto use material which is not affected by environment as much as possibleand is easily molded on the tape for the base member 10. Accordingly, inthe present embodiment, polyacetal resin is used for the base member 10and polyamide resin such as nylon 6, nylon 66 or the like is used forthe male fastening member 12.

However, the material of the base member 10 is largely affected also bythe material of the tape. For example, the tape can employ significantlyvarious kinds of materials, for example, such as a fiber tapeconstituted by natural fiber such as cotton, sheep wool or the like orsynthetic fiber such as polyamide, polyester, polypropylene or the like,and synthetic resin film made by polyamide, polyester, polyvinylchloride, polyethylene or the like. Further, a tape strechable material,a very super thin tape or the like may be used in a structure of theproduct.

In order to secure a strength of adhesion of the base member 10 withrespect to the male fastening member 12 in addition to a strength ofadhesion with respect to the tape material, it is necessary to variouslychange the material of the base member 10. Accordingly, the presentinvention does not limit the material to those as mentioned above, andall thermal plastic synthetic resins can be employed.

The typical resin material to be applied to the base member 10 isexemplified by polyacetal resin, polyvinyl chloride, polyvinyl acetate,various kinds of polyamide, polyester or the like, while the typicalresin material to be applied to the male fastening member 12 isexemplified by a polyamide resin, polyethylene terephthalate,polybutylene terephthalate, polymethyl pentene, polyphenylene oxide,polycarbonate, polypropylene or the like.

Further, inorganic additive such as fine particle of metal and ceramic,glass fiber, carbon fiber, aramide fiber or the like may be mixed in thethermoplastic resin material as mentioned above. In this case, whenadding these inorganic additive, it is preferable to add a fine amountof, for example, 10 wt % or less without deteriorating an elasticity ofthe male fastening member.

The melting point of the resin material is as shown in TABLE 1.

TABLE 1 RESIN MATERIAL MELTING POINT (° C.) nylon 6 215˜225 nylon 66253˜263 nylon 6-12 210 nylon 6-10 213 nylon MXD 6 243 polyethyleneterephthalate 256˜265 polybutylene terephthalate 224˜230 polymethlpentene 240 polyphenylene oxide 210 polycarbonate 145˜150 low densitypolyethylene 108˜122 high density polyethylene 127˜134 polyvinylchloride — polyvinyl acetate — polyacetal 165˜179 polypropylene 160

As is understood from TABLE 1, taking into consideration the fact thatan upper limit of the high temperature finishing by the iron is 190° C.,it is possible to mold the male fastening member 12 of the above resinmaterial, in the case of the resin material having a melting point of200° C. or more. However, taking into consideration the fact that thereis a case that a finishing is performed at a low temperature dependingon the product to be ironed, as mentioned above, it is not necessary toset the melting point of the male fastening member 12 at a hightemperature as mentioned above. On the other hand, taking intoconsideration a adhesion strength between the base member 10 and thetape T and the material of the male fastening member 12, and aformability of the base member 10 by molding, it is desirable to selectthe material having a melting point equal to or lower than the meltingpoint of the male fastening member 12 for the base member 10.

FIG. 7 shows a manner in which the mold is closed when integrallymolding the male fastening member 12 with the base member 10. In thedrawing, reference numeral 110 denotes an injection mold for forming themale fastening member, and the mold 110 is provided with a movable mold111 and a fixed mold 112 in the same manner as the injection mold formolding the base member as previously mentioned. On a parting surfacebetween the movable mold 111 and the fixed mold 112, there is formed atape-with-base-member-receiving space portion 113 which fittedlyreceives the base member 10 and the tape T integrally formed with thebase member 10 as a center, and there is formed amale-fastening-member-molding cavity 114 which is connected to thetape-with-base-member-receiving space portion 113 so as to cover andfill a central opening portion 10 a of the base member 10 with the baseportion 12 a of the male fastener 12, including the column portion 12 band the engaging head portion 12 c.

Accordingly, a gate 111 a communicated with a runner (not shown) isformed in the movable mold 111 in such a manner as to communicate with acenter portion of a base-portion-forming portion 114 a in themale-fastening-member-molding cavity 114, while a slide passage 112 a ofa slide core 115 for dividing the column portion 12 b and the engaginghead portion 12 c of the male fastening member 12 into two portions isformed in the fixed mold 112. In the illustrated embodiment, the slidepassage 112 a is formed in such a manner that the slide core 115 canslide in acrossing direction of the fixed mold 112. In this case, in theillustrated embodiment, an eject pin 116 to be brought into contact withan outer surface of the base member 10 is provided in an inner portionof the tape-with-base-member-receiving space portion 113 of the fixedmold 112 and at a portion in which the base member 10 is received sothat the eject pin 116 can freely ascend and descend.

The tape T′ with base member integrally molded thereto at the peripheraledge portion of the attachment hole 3 in the tape T is inserted and setwithin the injection mold as structured in the manner mentioned above.In the male fastener 2 in FIG. 7, a basically different point of thestructure from the base member 10 as a female fastener exists in thatthe male fastening member 12 as the second member of the presentinvention is molded and integrated with the opening portion 10 a of thebase member 10. That is, the opening portion 10 a is closed by the baseportion 12 a of the male fastening member 12, and the column portion 12b and the engaging head portion 12 c to be engaged with and disengagedfrom the opening portion 10 a of the base member 10 as a female fastenerare provided so as to project from one surface of the base portion 12 a.

The fastening member 12 comprises the column portion 12 b directlystanding from the base portion 12 a covering the opening portion 10 a ofthe base member 10 and the engaging head portion 12 c connected to thefront end of the column portion 12 b, as mentioned above, and is dividedinto two portions by a split groove 12 d extending from a portion near astanding end portion of the column portion 12 b to the engaging headportion 12 c. A shape of the split groove 12 d is determined inaccordance with a vertical cross sectional shape of the slid core 115.As is apparent from FIG. 7, a bottom surface of the groove 12 d isformed in a circular arc surface, a narrow groove portion and a widegroove portion are continuously formed via an arch-like step portionfrom the circular arc surface to the end portion of the engaging headportion 12 c.

In accordance with the shape of the split groove 12 d of the presentembodiment, on the sake that a thickness of an bulging portion 12 c′ ofthe engaging head portion 12 c in its bulging direction and a thicknessof the groove bottom portion in its diametrical direction aresubstantially equal to each other and the groove bottom portion isnarrow, there is a reduced influence by a shrinkage after molding, sothat a part of the column portion 12 b and the engaging head portion 12c which are divided into right and left portions stand substantially ina parallel manner even after the molding.

On the other hand, in a case that a cross section of a split groove isformed in a simple rectangular shape as in the conventional splitgroove, because a thickness of the bulging portion of the engaging headportion in its bulging direction is thicker than a thickness of a partof the other laterally divided column portion and the engaging headportion, and because a width of the groove bottom portion is relativelywider than the other portion, the laterally divided engaging headportion tends to be deformed in a direction approaching to each otherdue to the shrinkage after molding. This causes a reduction of theengaging force with respect to an opposing female fastener 1, that is,the engaging and disengaging force is easily weakened in comparison withthe present embodiment.

Further, in accordance with the shape of the male fastening member ofthe present embodiment, its elastic deformation can be performed largerthan that having the conventional split shape, so that an engaging anddisengaging operation with respect to the female fastener 1 can beeasily performed, and a desired engaging and disengaging force can besecured.

In order to integrally mold the male fastening member 12 provided withthe structure mentioned above with the peripheral edge portion of theopening portion in the base member 10, after the tape T′ with basemember is inserted into the tape-receiving space portion 113 formed inthe movable mold 111 and the fixed mold and the mold is closed, themolten resin is injected at a desired injection amount, and isintroduced into the cavity 114 for forming the male fastening memberthrough the gate 111 a. When the molten resin introduced into the cavity114 for forming the male fastening member is cooled and solidified, themovable mold 111 ascends and the molded male fastening member 12 and themolded gate 26 are broken and separated.

Next, before the male fastener 2 is pushed out from the fixed mold 112by the eject pins 116, that is, at the time when the movable mold 111starts its mold opening operation, the slide core 115 is also operated.When the slide core 115 is taken out of the molding cavity portion ofthe male fastening member 12, the eject pin 116 is operated so as topush out the male fastener 2 comprising the base member 10 and the malefastening member 12 from the fixed mold 112. At the time of pushing out,the engaging head portion 12 c is elastically deformed at a part of thecolumn portion 12 b and the engaging head portion 12 c by the existenceof the split groove 12 d therebetween, so that the male fastener 2 canbe easily pushed out to the outer portion of the mold.

Here, when the male fastener 2 is engaged with the base member 10 as thefemale fastener which leaves the molded gate 16 at the molding time asmentioned above, as shown by an imaginary line in FIG. 5, the moldedgate 16 left in the opening portion 14 a as mentioned above isautomatically broken and removed together with the molded storageportion 15 due to the pushing force to the opening portion 10 a by theengaging head portion 12 c.

As mentioned above, in a case of molding the male fastening member 12 tothe base member 10, it is possible to differentiate colors of the basemember 10 and the male fastening member 12, so that it is possible tomanufacture a male fastener with tape which is rich in a designproperty.

In the above description, the explanation was given of the embodiment inwhich the male fastening member 12 as the second member of the presentinvention is molded in and integrated with the base member 10 as thefirst member in accordance with the present invention. However, inaccordance with the present invention, the second member integrallymolded with the base member 10 may be a female fastening member 11. Inthe following description, the same reference numerals denote themembers and elements corresponding to the embodiment mentioned above.

FIGS. 9 and 10 are schematic views showing a typical embodiment of afemale fastener with a tape in which the female engaging member 11 as asecond member is integrated and molded with the base member 10 as afirst member in accordance with the present invention. FIG. 9 is a crosssectional view when the base member 10 is integrally molded with theperipheral edge portion of the attachment hole 3, and FIG. 10 is a crosssectional view of the female fastener with the tape obtained by moldingand integrating the female fastening member 11 as a second member withthe base member opening portion 10 a of the tape T′ with the basemember.

As is understood from FIG. 9, the base member 10 in accordance with thepresent embodiment is different from the embodiment mentioned above, inthat a multiplicity of concave and convex portions (uneven portion) areformed on the inner peripheral surface 10 a′ without forming the innerperipheral surface 10 a′ of the opening portion 10 a to be an engagingsurface with respect to the opposing male fastener 12. Due to the unevensurface, when the female fastening member 11 is molded as shown in FIG.10, a part of the female fastening member 11 is molded along the unevensurface, which can thus form a firm adhesion surface. The embodiment isobtained by the molding method on a basis of the shape and thearrangement of the sprue and the gate substantially the same as in theembodiment for molding and integrating the male fastening member 12 asshown by an imaginary line in FIG. 9.

As is the same in the embodiment as previously mentioned above, in acase of mounting the female fastening member 11 as a second member tothe first member as the base member 10, it is possible to mold the firstmember and the second member by the materials having different colorsand by the materials having different natures, so that it is possible tomeet various requirements by selecting colors and/or natures ofmaterials.

For example, in a case of applying the male fastening member 12 as thesecond member as in the embodiment previously mentioned, the fasteningdevice with tape which is rich in a design property can be manufacturedby differentiating the colors of the base member 10 and the femalefastening member 12. In a case of applying the female fastening member11 as the second member as in the embodiment mentioned above, the basemember 10 may be molded by hard material while the female fasteningmember 11 is molded of material softer and smaller in a coefficient offriction than those of the base member 10 as the first member, so thatan adhesion portion between the tape T and the female fastener 1 is madefirm and a desired engaging force can be obtained and a smooth engagingand disengaging operation can be performed with respect to the opposingmale fastener 2. In this case, when the material of the first member andthe second member of the opposing male fastener 2 are selected in thesame manner as the above female fastener 1, the same function as thatmentioned above can be obtained.

Further, in a case of intending to mold the base member 10 as the firstmember and the female fastening member 11 or the male fastening member12 as the second member by the different colors in the presentinvention, the coloring is generally performed by mixing pigment withthe respective resin material. In this case, for example, if thematerial which can be dyed by dyestuff is selected for the first member,it is possible to dye together with the tape T by the same dyestuffafter molding the first member on the tape T. Or, if the dyestuff whichcan not be dyed on the tape but dyed on the first member is selected, itis possible to differentiate the color of the tape T and the color ofthe first member. Thus, when the first member can be dyed, for example,it is possible to apply dying to a desired amount of the first memberson the tapes as demanded after manufacturing a large amount of tapeswith the first members in which colorless first members are previouslyintegrally molded on the respective tapes T, so that an efficientmanufacturing and product control can be performed.

FIGS. 11 and 12 respectively show a preferred embodiment of a shape ofsupport pins protruding into the cavity for forming the base member inthe mold from the upper and lower sides thereof in an opposing manner inthe case of integrally molding the base member 10 with the attachmenthole 3 of the tape T, and an example of a typical cross sectional shapeof the base member 10 in use of the mold.

Since the shapes of the other molding members are the same as those ofeach of the embodiments as mentioned above, the description will begiven to a shape of a support pin 107 a within the cavity for formingthe base member here. The support pin 107 a is substantially formed in aconical trapezoidal shape protruding in a direction of approaching toeach other, and arranged at a phase difference of 180 degrees or a phasedifference of 90 degrees with each other on the same circumference ofeach of the bottom surfaces of the ring-like base-member-molding cavity107. In the embodiment mentioned above, the pin is formed in a simpleconical trapezoidal shape, however, in accordance with the presentembodiment, a part of the front end portion of the support pin 107 a isformed on the taper surface 107 a′ as shown in FIG. 11. Further, thetaper surface 107 a′ is formed in such a manner that when the peripheraledge portion of the attachment hole 3 in the tape T is nipped by thesupport pin 107 a, an interval between the peripheral edge portion ofthe attachment hole 3 and the front end portion of the support pin 107 abecomes gradually greater toward a center of the attachment hole 3.

Then, in accordance with the present embodiment, in a plan view of eachsupport pin 107 a, a half of an end surface of the support pin 107 a ismade to be a flat surface 107 a″ to firmly nip the tape T, and theremaining end surface is formed to be a taper surface 107 a′. This tapersurface 107 a′ is a corrugation control portion in accordance with thepresent invention, and serves to suitably control the corrugation in theperipheral edge of the tape attachment hole 3. It is preferable that antaper angle of the taper surface 107 a is about 5 to 45 degrees, andmore preferably 10 to 25 degrees. Further, a portion of the flat surface107 a″ as a front end nipping portion in accordance with the presentinvention is designed so as to be positioned in the outer peripheraledge side from a substantially center point on the straight lineconnecting the support pin 107 a and the outer peripheral edge of thebase-member-molding cavity 107 which nips the tape T with the attachmenthole 3 being a center. The taper angle is determined depending onflexibility of the tape T.

As mentioned above, not only a suitable corrugation state is generatedin the peripheral edge portion of the tape attachment hole 3 due to thepressure of the molten resin introduced to the cavity 107 by forming thetaper surface 107 a′ on the support pin 107 a, but also it is possibleto control a magnitude of the corrugation shape by adjusting the taperangle, so that a proper strength of adhesion of the base member 10 (thefirst member) with respect to the tape T can be secured.

The molten resin introduced to the peripheral edge of the attachmenthole 3 in the tape T, substantially in parallel to the tape T, branchesand flows into the front and back surfaces of the tape T. Due to theintroduced molten resin, the peripheral edge of the attachment hole 3 isgoing to largely corrugate at the periphery of the front end supportportion 107 a″ of the support pin 107 a, however, the corrugating amountis suitably controlled by the taper surface 107 a′ so that theperipheral edge of the attachment hole 3 is buried in the molten resinwithin the cavity in a suitable corrugating state as shown in FIG. 12,so that the base member 10 can be integrally molded with the strength ofadhesion in the peripheral edge portion of the attachment hole 3 beingsecured.

In the mold as shown in FIG. 6, since the front end of the support pin107 a protruding into the base-member-molding cavity 107 has a certainlevel of thickness, as shown in FIG. 6, it is possible to inset theeject pin 153 in the pin hole 107 a-1 formed in the axial core of thesupport pin 107 a. However, in the case that the front end portion ofthe support pin 107 is narrow, or in the case that the taper surface isprovided in the front end portion of the support pins as mentionedabove, the pin hole 107 a-1 can not be formed. In this case, it ispossible to shift and dispose the inserting hole 107 a-1 for the ejectpin 153 in a circumferential direction from the position in the supportpin 107 a so as to bring into contact with an outer surface of the basemember 10.

In the embodiment mentioned above, the description is given to theembodiment in which the male or female fastening members 11 or 12 as thesecond member is integrated with the base member 10 as the first memberby molding. However, the method of integrally mounting the second memberto the first member in accordance with the present invention includesvarious mounting methods other than the integral molding.

FIGS. 13 and 14 show an example of such other mounting method. In thisexample, a male fastening member 12′ as the second member similar to themale fastening member and having a base portion 12 a′, a column portion12 b and an engaging head portion 2 c are previously formed. A shape ofthe male fastening member 12′ is substantially similar to the fasteningmember 12, however, a tapered blind hole is simultaneously formed at acenter of an end surface of the base portion 12 a′. Then, after the malefastening member 12′ preliminarily formed in this manner is insertedinto the opening portion 10 a of a base member 10, a conical projectingportion 131 of a heated body 130 shown by an imaginary line in FIG. 14is inserted into the blind hole at the center of the end surface of themale fastening member 12′ so as to be pressed. Due to the pressing forceand the heating, the end surface side of the male fastening member 12′is heated and deformed, and the diameter thereof is expanded so as toform an outer shape corresponding to the opening portion 10 a of thebase member 10. Therefore, the male fastening member 12′ is engaged andintegrated with the opening portion 10 a together with a flange portion12 a″ of its base portion 12 a′.

FIGS. 15 and 16 show an example of the other mounting method by anultrasonic wave. In this mounting method, the male fastening member 12′having the same shape as mentioned above is previously formed. Then, themale fastening member 12′ is inserted into an opening portion 10 a of abase member 10, and next, a column portion 12 b and an engaging headportion 12 c of the male fastening member 12′ is fitted into anengaging-head-portion-fitting hole 132 a of an anvil 132 in the mannershown in FIG. 15, thereby being brought the anvil 132 into contact withthe flange portion 12 a″ of the base portion 12 a′ of the male fasteningmember 12. Thereafter, a conical projecting portion 133 a of a horn 133is inserted into the central blind hole in the end surface of the baseportion 12 a′ as shown in FIG. 16 so as to oscillate ultrasonic wave,thereby deforming the base portion 12 a′. Further, a boundary surfacebetween the inner peripheral surface of the opening portion 10 a of thebase member 10 and an outer peripheral surface of the base portion 12 a′is melted, so that both of them are integrated by welding.

Here, though it is omitted here, in addition to the mounting methodmentioned above, it is possible to previously form the male fasteningmember 12 formed in such a shape to fit a shape of the base portion 12 ainto the opening portion 10 a of the base member 10, and then to weldand integrate the boundary surface portion of the both by a highfrequency. Or, the base portion 12 a of the male fastening member 12 maybe inserted into the opening portion 10 a after an adhesive is appliedto the peripheral surface of the base portion 12 a of the male fasteningmember 12 or the inner peripheral surface of the opening portion 10 a onthe base member 10, thereby bonding and integrating by the adhesive.

FIGS. 17 to 19 show an embodiment of molding and integrating the firstmember and the second member with different materials in accordance withthe present invention. In FIG. 17, materials of both of the base member10 as the first member and the female and male fastening members 11 and12 as the second member are differentiated, and colors of the basemember 10 and the female and male fastening members 11 and 12 are alsodifferentiated. That is, normal thermoplastic synthetic resin is usedfor the base member 10, while elastomer resin material having elasticityis used for each of the female fastening member 11 and the malefastening member 12. Further, a pigment having a different color or thelike are mixed in the synthetic resin material of each of the basemember 10, the female fastening member 11 and the male fastening member12. In this example, the female fastening member 11 is formed in a ringshape in the same manner as the female fastening member as mentionedabove, and has on the inner peripheral surface an engaging surface to beengaged with the opposing male fastening member 12.

A shape of the male fastening member 12 is different from the shapementioned above. That is, as shown in FIGS. 18 and 19, a split groove 12d is not formed in the column portion 12 b and the engaging head portion12 c standing from the base portion 12 a. Accordingly, the female andmale fasteners 1 and 2 in accordance with the embodiment are elasticallyengaged and disengaged with each other. When the split grove 12 d is notprovided in the column portion 12 b and the engaging head portion 12 c,the fastener is not caught in a thread or a hair at the time of itsengaging and disengaging, so that a smooth engaging and disengaging canbe performed.

In this case, since the male fastening member 12 is soft and haselasticity as mentioned above, its connection with the inner peripheralsurface 10 a′ of the central opening portion 10 a of the base member 10becomes unstable in the engaging and disengaging operation between bothfemale and male fasteners 1 and 2. In this case, as shown in FIG. 19, anunstable connection between the base member 10 and the male fasteningmember 12 can be prevented by setting a total area of bulging portions12′ in plan view each existing respectively at the right and leftportions of the male engaging head portion 10 c which engages with anddisengages from the female fastener 1, at a predetermined size. That is,the total area of the bulging portions 12′ is set to be smaller than adifference between a total area, in plan view, of a diametricallyenlarged portion of the base portion 12 a of the male fastening member12, i.e. the largest area S₁, and an area S₂, in plan view, of anarrowed portion of the male fastening member 12 because of theexistence of the inner peripheral surface 10 a′ of the central openingportion 10 a of the base member 10, as shown in FIG. 18.

Further, though its illustration is omitted, in accordance with thepresent invention, it is possible to use material which is soft and haselasticity for the first member, in which case, its fit with the tapecan be improved particularly when the tape has flexibility.

FIGS. 20A to 20D show an embodiment in which a first member as aring-like base member 10 is a molded product for applying a rigiditysufficient to restrict corrugation in the peripheral edge of theattachment hole, which is most easily corrugated, to a minimum degree atthe time of molding and integrating the second member. In accordancewith this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 20B, the outer peripheral portionof the ring-like base member 10 is made thick and the portion extendingfrom the outer peripheral portion to the central opening portion isformed thin. The thick portion 10 d formed in the outer peripheralportion constitutes an outer edge portion of the fasteners 1 and 2 as afinal product, and the thin portion 10 e extending from the outerperipheral portion to the central opening portion becomes a frame memberburied within a second member at the next process.

FIG. 20C shows an embodiment of the female fastener 1 in which thefemale fastening member 11 as a second member is integrally formed onthe peripheral surface 10 a′ of the opening portion of the base member10 formed and integrated with the tape T, the front and back surfaces ofthe thin portion 10 e and the inner peripheral surface of the front andback thick portions 10 d, and FIG. 20D shows an embodiment of the malefastener 2 molded and integrated in a state that the male fasteningmember 12 as a second member is fitted to and molded integrally with theperipheral surface 10 a′ of the opening portion in the base member 10formed and integrated on the tape T, the front and back surfaces of thethin portion 10 e and the inner peripheral surface of the front and backthick portions 10 d. In order to manufacture this fastening device withtape, at first, as shown in FIG. 20A, the attachment hole 3 ispreviously formed on the tape T and the base member 10 having a shape asmentioned above is integrally formed on the tape T (see FIG. 20B).

In this molding, unlike the embodiment as mentioned it is not necessaryto protrude the tape support pins within the base-member-molding cavityand direct the gate to the peripheral edge of the attachment hole 3 inparallel to the tape T. This is because the male fastening member 12 ismolded and integrated so as to surround all the surface of the thinportion 10 e at the next process even if a part of the tape T is exposedon one of the front and the back of the thin portion 10 e. Of course, inthe same manner as the embodiment mentioned above, it is possible todirect the gate position to the peripheral edge of the attachment hole 3in parallel to the tape T. In this case, since the attachment hole 3 ofthe tape T properly becomes corrugated within the base member 10, thestrength of adhesion with the base member 10 is secured, which ispreferable.

In this manner, after the base member 10 is integrated with theperipheral edge portion of the attachment hole 3 in the tape T bymolding, the female or male fastening member 11 or 12 as a second memberis molded and integrated in a range from the inner peripheral surface 10a′ of the central opening portion 10 a of the base member 10 to an innerperipheral surface 10 d′ of the thick portion 10 d in the same manner asmentioned above. As a result, the product shown in FIGS. 20C and 20D canbe obtained. At the time of molding the female fastening member 11, inthe same manner as the case of forming the base member 10 in theprevious embodiment, it is possible to introduce molten resin materialinto the female-fastening-member-molding cavity from the gate, which isdirected from the center of the base member 10 to a middle of theperipheral surface of the opening portion as shown by an imaginary linein FIG. 20C.

Further, at the time of molding the male fastening member 12, it isdesirable to set the cavity for forming the male fastening member 12 tobe a shape in which a deep recessed notch portion 12 f is formed at thecenter portion of an end surface of a base portion 12 a of the malefastening member 12, and dispose a gate 106 at a center of the recessednotch portion 12 f, as shown by the imaginary line in FIG. 20D.

In the embodiment mentioned above, though the first member and thesecond member are integrally mounted in order to manufacture thefastening device with tape in accordance with the present invention, thepresent invention may be such a structure that an intermediate member isadditionally interposed between the first and second members. Theintermediate member is not limited to a case of being constituted by asingle layer as mentioned below, but can be constituted by a pluralityof layers.

FIGS. 21A and 21B show an embodiment in which an intermediate member 13is composed of one layer. In accordance with this embodiment, in thesame manner as the embodiment as mentioned above, a ring-like basemember 10 having a thick portion 10 d and a thin portion 10 e isintegrally molded to the peripheral edge portion of the attachment hole3 previously formed in the tape T. In the mold at this time, likewisethe embodiment as mentioned above, the tape support pins are notarranged within the cavity. Further, the thin portion 10 e of the basemember 10 may only have a minimum thickness enough to secure suchrigidity that an peripheral edge portion of the attachment hole in thetape T after molded does not largely corrugate due to the pressure ofthe molten resin introduced into the cavity at the time of molding theintermediate member 13. Thus, it is sufficient to make a cavity spaceonly enough to perform the molding on the front and back surfaces of thetape T with the thin portion 10 e being in said minimum thickness.

Likewise the embodiment as mentioned above, since the base member 10 asthe first member is provided as a molded product for applying a rigiditysufficient to restrict the corrugation in the peripheral edge portion ofthe attachment hole, which is most easy to become corrugated on the tapeT, not only the intermediate member 13 is easy to be molded, but alsodifferent colors can be applied to the base member 10 as the firstmember, the intermediate member 13 and the male fastening member 12 asthe second member. Further, though its illustration is omitted, in acase of molding the intermediate member 13 smaller toward the outerperipheral thick portion 10 d and molding the female fastening member asthe second member near a central opening portion of the intermediatemember 13 thus molded, it is possible to apply various colors to thesingle fastener 1 or 2, whether it is female or male, by applying thedifferent colors to the intermediate member and the female fasteningmember as the second members.

FIGS. 22 to 24 show an embodiment of an fastener with tape havinganother engaging structure in accordance with the present invention. Thefemale fastener 1 of the fastening device with tape in accordance withthis embodiment can commonly serve as a first member of the presentinvention, likewise the embodiment as shown in FIG. 2.

In the illustrated embodiment, in a central opening portion 10 a of thefemale fastener 1 (the base member 10), there is provided an engagingportion 1 b to be engaged with and disengaged from an opposing malefastener 2 along one inner peripheral edge on one of the front and backsides of the central opening portion 10 a. The engaging and disengagingportion 1 b bulges out from the inner peripheral surface 10 a′ andtoward the central direction of the central opening portion 10 a, andhas a plurality of notch portion 1 c arranged at a predeterminedinterval in a peripheral direction thereof. Since the engaging portion 1b slightly deforms in an elastic manner in a radial direction because ofthe existence of the notch portion 1 c, its engagement and disengagementwith respect to an opposing engaging head portion 12 c as mentionedbelow can be smoothly performed.

On the other hand, the opposing male fastener 2 is molded on a firstmember which is identical with the female fastener 1 in accordance withthe present invention. That is, as is apparent from FIG. 22, the malefastening member 12 is integrally molded with the central openingportion 10 a of the first member which can be a female fastener 1 inaccordance with the method mentioned above. In this molding, since apart of the male fastening member 12 enters into notch portions 1 cformed as mentioned above in the female fastener 1 so as to beintegrated therewith, a strength of adhesion between the first memberand the male fastening member 12 as the second member is increased. As aresult, a desired strength of adhesion can be obtained, for example,even between the resins having small affinity.

Since the notch portions 1 c are formed in the opening portion 10 a ofthe female fastening member 11 as mentioned above so as to make itpossible to elastically deform at the opening portion 1 a of the femalefastening member 11 in a diametrical direction thereof, a column portion12 b and the engaging head portion 12 c of the male fastening member 12may only be formed in a hollowed cylindrical shape with the engaginghead portion 12 c bulging outward, as shown in FIG. 22. Thus, eventhough a split groove 12 d is not formed in the male fastening member 12as previously mentioned, an engagement and disengagement between thefemale fastener 1 and the male fastener 2 can be smooth, while anengaging and disengaging force sufficient to be durable in a practicaluse can be secured. Further, since no split groove is formed, any threador hair is not caught at a time of engaging and disengaging thefasteners.

FIG. 25 shows a shape of the first member (the base member 10) of thefastening device with tape, as an article, decoratively designed inaccordance with the present invention. In the illustrated embodiment,though an automotive vehicle is exemplified as a shape of the article,it should not be limited to this. In accordance with the presentembodiment, FIGS. 25A and 25B show a fastener with tape having anfastener 1 or 2 obtained by the embodiment mentioned above as shown inFIGS. 22 and 23. The female and male fasteners 1 and 2 designed in thismanner are particularly preferable to the clothes or bags for babies.

In these drawings, the female and male fasteners 1 and 2 to be engagedand disengaged with each other are respectively mounted to the samefirst members 10. However, the present invention may include such a casethat two or more female and/or male fasteners 1 and 2 are respectivelymounted to the same first members. FIGS. 26 to 28 show the case ofmounting two or more female or male fasteners 1 and 2 to the firstmembers designed in the same decorative shapes. In accordance with thisexample, each article is decoratively designed to be a face of a bear,and this device can be mounted to front open portions of the clothes 30for babies as shown in FIG. 28. In this case, since each of the femaleand male fasteners 1 and 2 can be engaged at two positions as shown inFIG. 27, a strength of adhesion sufficiently to be durable in a activemotion of the baby can be achieved.

In the illustrated embodiment, a plurality of attachment holes 3 areformed on the same tape T in a longitudinal direction thereof at apredetermined interval and are arranged in two rows in parallel in awidthwise direction of the tape T. Then a single first member 10 whichis designed in the face of a bear is integrally molded on the tape T insuch a manner that the attachment holes 3 adjacent in a widthwisedirection of the tape correspond to right and left eyes of a bear. Afterfinishing the molding of the first member 10, the female or malefastening members 11 or 12 is integrally molded with opening portions 10a corresponding to the right and left eyes. At this time, a remarkablydecorative fastener can be obtained by mixing pigment or the like in theresin material for the fastening members 11 or 12 and molding withcolors different from that of the resin material of the first member 10.

FIGS. 29 and 30 show an embodiment in which resin material havingmagnetism are used for both of the female and male fastening members 11and 12 so that the female and male fasteners 1 and 2 can be engaged anddisengaged by a magnetic force. Specifically, powder of ferrite magnetare mixed in the resin material for each of the female and malefastening members 11 and 12, which are respectively molded andintegrated with a central opening portion 10 a of the base member 10 asa first member. This can be achieved by only setting an engaging portion11 b of the female fastening member 11 to be a recessed notch portionformed in a simple circular cross sectional shape, and an engagingportion 12 h of the male fastening member 12 in a cylindrical shape tobe fitted to the female engaging and disengaging portion 11 b.

Further, FIG. 31 shows an embodiment which also utilizes a magneticforce for an engaging and disengaging force of the female and malefasteners 1 and 2. In this embodiment, an intermediate member 13 isinterposed between the male fastening member 12 and the base member 10.The intermediate member 13 is made of resin in which powder of theferrite magnet are mixed, and has a ring-like shape having an openingportion 13 a at its center, which is integrally molded with an openingportion 10 a of the base member 10 in the same manner as that of theembodiment mentioned above. Next, the male fastening member 12 isintegrally molded with the opening portion 13 a of the intermediatemember 13, thus a male fastening device with tape is completed. The malefastening member 12 is narrowed at its base portion 12 a and has asimple cylindrical engaging 12 h, with no engaging head portion bulgingat its periphery, standing from the intermediate member 13 so as to bemolded and integrated therewith. In accordance with this embodiment, aplurality of colors can be applied to a single male fastener 2 by mixingpigment having different colors in the resin materials for, particularlythe first member (the base member) 10 and the intermediate member 13.

FIGS. 32 and 33 shows a case that an fastening device with tape inaccordance with this invention is provided with a structure which can befreely attached to and detached from the clothes so that the tape T withdevice is used a single female or male button fastener 31 or 32. In theembodiment shown in FIG. 32, the fastener with tape is a female buttonfastener 31, in which the tape T made of natural or synthetic leather isformed in a rectangular shape. A press line P1 is formed so as to makean intermediate portion of the tape T in a longitudinal directionfoldable, and a rectangular press line P2 is formed along an peripheraledge of each of left and right small pieces T1 and T2 defined by thepress line P1. It is not necessary that a shape of the rectangular pressline P2 is formed in a rectangular shape. Alternatively, an optionalpattern can be formed by the press line P2. Then, two female fastener 1are mounted to one of the left and right small pieces T1 and T2, and amale fastener 2 is integrally mounted to an other end portion of theother.

On the other hand, FIG. 33 shows a case that the fastener with tape is amale button fastener 32, the tape T is molded of natural or syntheticleather formed in a rectangular shape, a press line P1 is formed so asto make an intermediate portion of the tape T in a longitudinaldirection foldable while a rectangular press line P2 is formed along aperipheral edge of left and right small pieces T1 and T2 defined by thepress line P1, in the same manner as the female button fastener. Then,one female fastener 1 and one male fastener 2 can be respectivelyintegrally mounted to one of the left and right small pieces T1 and T2,and one male fastener 2 is integrally mounted to an end portion of theother small piece.

FIGS. 34 and 35 show a manner in which each of the female and malebutton fasteners 31 and 32 are attached clothes or the like, and each ofthe button fasteners 31 and 32 is used as a fastener device for theclothes. Now, in a case that the female or male button fasteners 31 or32 is attached to the clothes or the like, an insertion hole throughwhich an engaging portion 12 i of the male fastening member 12 is to beinserted is previously formed in the button-fastener-attachment portionof the clothes or the like. When the female button fastener 31 shown inFIG. 32 is attached to the button-fastener-attachment portion for theclothes or the like, the female button fastener 31 is folded along thepress line P1 as a folding line, and the engaging portion 12 i of themale fastener 2 mounted to the end portion of the female button fastener31 is inserted into the insertion hole so as to be engaged with acorresponding female fastener 1. When the female button fastener 31 isattached in this manner, one of two female fasteners 1 attached inparallel is exposed on one of opposite joining portions of a frontopening portion of the clothes. This female fastener 1 serves as afemale button fastener.

On the other hand, when the male button fastener 32 is attached to aportion of the clothes opposing to the female button fastener 31, themale button fastener 32 is folded along the press line P1 as a foldingline, and the engaging portion 12 i of the male fastener 2 mounted tothe end portion of the male button fastener 32 is inserted into theinsertion hole of the clothes, so as to be engaged with thecorresponding female fastener 1, in the same manner as that of thefemale button fastener mentioned above. As a result, one of the malefasteners 2 is exposed on the other of the opposite joining portions ofthe front opening of the clothes. This male fastener 2 serves as a malebutton fastener. FIG. 35 shows a state of engaging the male fastener 2of the male button fastener 32 with the female fastener 1 of thecorresponding female button fastener 31, respectively attached to theopposite joing portions of the front open portion of the clothes. Whenthe female and male button fasteners 31 and 32 are removed from theclothes, it is sufficient to remove the female and male fasteners 1 and2 engaged with each of the button fasteners 31 and 32. As mentionedabove, in accordance with the embodiment, it is possible to exchange themale and female button fasteners 31 and 32 for one' taste or against itsbreakage.

Then, as is understood from FIGS. 32 and 33, it is possible to easilyattach the female and male fasteners 1 and 2 on the same tape in anoptional arrangement, in such a manner as that the engaging portion 12 iof the male fastener 2 protrude from the front and back surfaces of thetape T. That is, in the fastening device with tape in accordance withthe present invention, if the base member 10 as a first member is moldedso as to have a function of a female fastener 1, it is possible tointegrally mold the base members 10 on the tape T at the same pitch in alongitudinal direction of the tape T, so that the female fasteners 1 asbase members 10 can be optionally molded at their opening portions 10 awith the male fastening members 12 as second members or the femalefastening members 11 further having another engaging portions. Suchoptions can be made possible only by the present invention.

FIGS. 36 and 37 shows an example in which the fastening device with tapein accordance with the present invention is used as a pull of a sliderof a slide fastener, and FIG. 38 shows an example in which the fasteningdevice with tape in accordance with the present invention is used afreely-adjustable fastening band AB to be used for bags. These examplesindicate that the fastening device with tape in accordance with thepresent invention can be manufactured efficiently for various uses, asin the same manner as shown in FIGS. 32 and 33. In this case, though itsillustration is omitted, the fastening device with tape having a shapeshown in FIG. 36 can be also used as a hanging device for a bag or thelike, for example, when being attached to a hand portion of the bags inthe same manner as a pull for the slider.

Specifically, when a pull PT for a slider of a slide fastener as shownin FIG. 36 is manufactured with a fastening device with tape inaccordance with the present invention, at first the base members 10 asfirst members are integrally molded at all of a plurality of attachmentholes formed in the long-sized tape T at a predetermined pitch, andthereafter, a male fastening member 12 is integrally molded to anopening portion 10 a of one base member 10 in the end portion side amonga desired number (four in the illustrated embodiment) of base members10. The fastener with the long-sized tape manufactured in the abovemanner is cut along a cutting line CL as shown by an imaginary line inFIG. 36A. Prior to this cutting, as shown in FIG. 36A, it is possible topreviously apply a thermal treatment to a tape portion between the malefastener 2 in the end portion side and a female fastener 1 adjacentthereto so as to contract a width of the tape portion. Then, a treatmentsuch as sewing or the like is applied to the cut end portion so as toobtain a tape having a shape as shown in FIG. 36B.

The end portion of the tape T to which the male fastener 2 of the tape Tis attached is inserted into a pull ring ST of a slider FS so as to befolded back, and the male fastener 2 is engaged with the opposing femalefastener 1 so as to form a handle PT, as shown in FIG. 37.

FIG. 38 shows an example in which the fastening device with tape inaccordance with the present invention is applied as a fastening band ABwhich is freely adjustable for fixedly closing an opening portion of amain body of a bag or the like with its opening and closing cover.Specifically, an end of the tape T with a male fastener 2 manufacturedin the same manner as the example as mentioned above is attached the bagmain body 27 by sewing or the like. An end portion of a band 29 having aconnection ring 29 a at one end thereof is attached to an opening andclosing top cover 28 of the opening portion of the bag main body 27 bysewing or the like. When closing the opening portion of the bag mainbody 27 with the opening and closing top cover 28, a free end of thetape T is inserted into the connection ring 29 a at a side of theopening and closing top cover 28 so as to be folded back, and the malefastener 2 in the end portion of the tape T is engaged with acorresponding female fastener 1 attached to the tape T. Since aplurality of female fasteners 1 are attached on the tape T, it ispossible to engage the male fastener 2 with an optional one of thefemale fasteners 1 depending on an amount of the contents received inthe bag.

FIG. 39 shows rompers 33 to which the fastening device with tape inaccordance with the present invention is applied. The rompers 33 has afront body and a leg portion which are continuously opened and closed ina range from a neck portion to right and left knee portions thereof asshown in the drawing. In general, the male and female snap fasteners areattached along the front open portion thereof so as to join the rightand left portions. Each interval between the snap fasteners isfrequently changed in accordance with their mounting portions, and inmost cases, an arrangement of the male and female fasteners is notuniform.

Since the fastening device with tape in accordance with the presentinvention is structured, as mentioned above, such that not only thekinds of the fasteners 1 and 2 but also their arrangement order andarrangement interval can be optionally set, the rompers 33 excellent inuse can be obtained. FIG. 40A shows an example of an fastener Ta withtape in which the female fasteners 1 and the male fasteners 2 arearranged on the same tape and are divided into groups in a longitudinaldirection thereof, one of the intervals being made different. FIG. 40Bshows an example of a fastener Tb with tape in which the male fasteners2 all of which are the same kind on the are arranged on the same tape atthe same arrangement interval as mentioned above. FIG. 40C shows anexample of an fastener with tape in which the female fasteners 1 all ofwhich are the same kind are arranged on the same tape at the arrangementinterval as mentioned above. These fasteners Ta to Tc with tapes areexcellent in engaging and disengaging operation as when they areattached along the front open portion of the rompers 33 as shown in FIG.39 and can constitute an engaging and disengaging portion gentle for asensitive skin of babies.

Further, FIG. 41A shows an example of a fastener T4 with tape in whichfive female fastening members 1 are arranged on a half portion of thetape T in a longitudinal direction thereof as being integral thereto,while five male fasteners 2 are arranged on the remaining half portionof the tape T as being integral thereto. The fastening devices with thisstructure can sufficiently serve as buttons for opening and closing therompers 33 only by attaching three fasteners Td with tape, asillustrated in FIG. 44B, along the front opening portion of the rompers33 by sewing or the like.

FIG. 42 shows an example in which the fastening device with tape inaccordance with the present invention is used as a header tape 35 to beattached along an upper end edge of a curtain 34 as it is and thefastening device with tape in accordance with the present invention isset as a curtain hanging tape 36. In accordance with the illustratedexample, a base member 10 as a first member of the present invention hasa rectangular configuration, and has an opening portion at the centerportion thereof so as to function also as a female fastener. For thefastener as a header tape 35, the base member 10 is used as the femalefastener to which a male fastening member 12 is integrally molded to thebase member 10 of the curtain hanging tape 36 so as to form the malefastener 2. Further, in accordance with the present invention, aattaching members 37 a made of synthetic resin, which comprises a hookfor hooking to a curtain runner 37, are integrally molded at a desiredinterval along and to one side edge of the curtain hanging tape 36extending in a longitudinal direction thereof the attaching member 37 amay be made of metal material.

FIG. 43 shows an example in which a second member in accordance with thepresent invention is formed in a hook shape. In this case, ring-likebase members 10 having an opening portion 10 a at a center portionthereof is integrally molded at both ends of the fastening device withtape in accordance with the present invention. Further, a hook-like malefastening member 17 is integrally molded to the opening portion 10 a ofone of the base members 10. FIG. 44 shows a manner in which thefastening device with tape having such a structure as mentioned above isused as a hanging tape 38 for a picture. In this case, a hook member 39attached on a lintel or a long closet is inserted into the openingportion 10 a of the base member 10 molded to an upper end of the hangingtape 38, and a hanging ring 40 for a picture or he like is hooked by ahook-like portion of the male fastener 12 having the male fasteningmember 17 and formed at a lower end of the tape 38, thereby hanging thepicture.

FIGS. 45 and 46 show an example of a curtain opening and closing tape 41in which a string-passing member 19 having a ring portion 19 c as asecond member in accordance with the present invention is integrallymolded with an opening portion 10 a of a base member 10 as a firstmember molded on a tape T. In order to manufacture the curtain openingand closing tape 41, firstly the base member 10 in a rectangular shapehaving an opening portion 10 a at a center portion thereof is attachedto an attachment hole 3 which is previously formed in the tape T byintegral molding as shown in an upper left side of FIG. 45, and then thestring-passing member 19 is molded to the opening portion 10 a of thebase member 10. The string-passing member 19 comprises, as is apparentfrom FIGS. 45 and 46, a plate-like small piece having a base member 19 aintegrally molded to an inner peripheral surface of the opening portion10 a, a ring portion 19 c standing outwardly from the opening portion 10a and having a string-passing hole 19 b opening in a longitudinaldirection of the tape.

A plurality of curtain opening and closing tapes 41 each provided withsuch a structure as mentioned above are arranged in parallel on a backsurface of the curtain 34 in a vertical direction by sewing or the like,with the ring portion 19 c being exposed outside. A string member 42 isinserted toward each of the string-passing holes 19 b of the ringportion 19 c so as to suspend an upper end of each of the string members42 from a portion near to right and left end edge portions of thecurtain 34 via a guide member 44 comprising a ring or a pulley fixedalong a curtain box 43 or the like as shown in FIG. 45. A stopper 42 ais attached to a lower end of the string member 42, thereby preventing asuspending end of the string 42 from being pulled out from the stringpassing hole 19 b of each of the ring portions 19 c when the suspendingend is pulled.

When the suspending end of each of the string members 42 is pulleddownward, the curtain 34 is pulled up from its lower end portion whileforming pleats, as shown in FIG. 48. In this state, when the suspendingend of the string member 40 is released, the suspending end is taken upin a direction of the stopper 42 a due to a weight of the curtain 34, sothat the curtain 41 is closed. In the illustrated embodiment, though thetape with the fastener in accordance with the present invention is usedas a curtain opening and closing tape 41, it may be used as an openingand closing tape for a sccate type bag when it is attached in the samemanner to an opening portion of the sccate type bag. The illustratedembodiment only shows a typical embodiment of the opening and closingtape.

FIGS. 49 and 50 show an example of a tape T to which an fastener havinga shape different from that of the fasteners in accordance with theembodiments as mentioned above is adhered. In a female fastener 21 inaccordance with the embodiment as shown in FIG. 49B, there are a basemember 210 as a first member formed in a rectangular frame shape and afemale fastening member 211 as a second member with its base portion 211a being integrally molded with a central opening portion 210 a of thebase member 210. The female fastening member 211 has, as is apparentfrom FIGS. 49 and 50, structured such as shape that a female engagingportion 211 b projecting from one surface of a base portion 211 a formedin a rectangular shape is in a gate-like shape as seen in a longitudinaldirection of the tape T and has a side wall 211 b′ at its back portion.

The male fastener 22 has a male fastening member 212 as a second memberintegrally molded at its base portion 212 a with a central openingportion 210 a of the base member 210 formed in the rectangular frameshape. The male fastening member 211 has, as is clearly shown FIG. 49A,such a shape that a male engaging and disengaging portion 211 bprojecting from one surface of the base portion 212 a in a normalrectangular shape and constituting a hook portion forms an inverted Lshape as seen from a side portion of the tape T.

In the female fastener 21 and the male fastener 22 having the aboveshapes, the hook portion of the male engaging portion 212 b engages withand disengages from the gate-shaped portion of the female engagingportion 211 b, as shown in FIG. 50. The female engaging portion 211 band the male engaging and disengaging portion 212 b of the fasteningdevice with tape in accordance with the embodiment is preferably made ofhard material and set its projecting height to be as low as possible.The device can be used as the fastener for underwear, brassiere, babyclothes or the like.

Only typical embodiments in accordance with the present invention areonly described above, and it is sufficiently understood from thedescription as mentioned above that various modifications can be madewithin a scope of claims of the present invention.

What is claimed:
 1. A method of manufacturing a fastening device withtape for fixing a fastener to an attachment hole of the tape having atleast one attachment hole, comprising steps of: (a) holding an entireperipheral edge portion of the attachment hole and integrally molding asynthetic resin first member having an opening portion at a centerthereof on front and back surfaces of the tape; and (b) integrallyattaching a synthetic resin second member to an opening portion of thefirst member, the second member having an engaging portion to be engagedwith and disengaged from an opposing fastening device.
 2. A method ofmanufacturing a fastening device with tape according to claim 1, furtherincluding a step of molding the first member thin at a predeterminedarea extending in a diametrical direction along the peripheral edgeportion of the attachment hole of the tape to form a thin portion, and astep of molding a thick portion continuous to an outer periphery of thethin portion.
 3. A method of manufacturing a fastening device with tapeaccording to claim 1, further including steps of: positioning theattachment hole of the tape within a first-member-molding cavity havinga plurality of nipping members which nip the peripheral edge portion ofthe attachment hole of the tape from front and back side thereof;nipping the peripheral edge portion of the attachment hole by thenipping members; and introducing molten resin within the cavity.
 4. Amethod of manufacturing a fastening device with tape according to claim1, further including steps of: introducing molten resin to a centerportion of the attachment hole; guiding the molten resin introduced tothe center portion to a guide passage extending in a radial manner or astraight manner; and introducing the molten resin guided by the guidepassage toward the peripheral edge portion of the attachment hole of thetape, substantially parallel to the tape.
 5. A method of manufacturing afastening device with tape according to claim 3, wherein each of thenipping members has a front end nipping portion and a corrugationcontrol portion, and the method further including a step of positioningthe front end nipping portion at an intermediate position between aperipheral edge of the attachment hole of the tape and an outerperipheral edge of the first member after molded or at a position towardthe outer peripheral edge from the intermediate position and nipping thetape, and a step of opposing the corrugation control portions to eachother, the corrugation control portions being tapered in such a manneras to gradually increase a gap with respect to the tape toward a centerof the attachment hole from the front end nipping portion.
 6. A methodof manufacturing a fastening device with tape according to claim 1,further including a step of integrally molding the second member along aperipheral edge of the opening portion in the first member.
 7. A methodof manufacturing a fastening device with tape according to claim 1,further including a step of: molding the second member independently;inserting the second member into the opening portion of the firstmember; and integrally bonding the second member and the opening portionby an adhesive.
 8. A method of manufacturing a fastening device withtape according to claim 1, further including the steps of: preliminarilymolding the second member independently; inserting a preliminarilymolded product into the opening portion of the first member; andpressing and heating the preliminarily molded product by a heating bodyso as to deform a part of the second member and to be rotatably engagedwith the opening portion.
 9. A method of manufacturing a fasteningdevice with tape according to claim 1, further including steps of:preliminarily molding the second member; inserting the preliminarilymolded product into the opening portion of the first member; andintegrally welding the preliminarily molded product and the openingportion.
 10. A method of manufacturing a fastening device with tapeaccording to claim 1, further including steps of: preliminarily moldingthe second member independently; inserting the preliminarily moldedproduct into the opening portion of the first member; pressing ahigh-temperature member to the preliminarily molded product; and weldingand deforming a part of the preliminarily molded product by the pressingso as to integrally weld to the opening portion.
 11. A method ofmanufacturing a fastening device with tape according to claim 1, furtherincluding the steps of: preliminarily molding the second memberindependently; inserting the preliminarily molded product into theopening portion of the first member; and pressing, melting and deforminga part of the preliminarily molded product by ultrasonic orhigh-frequency heating means so as to integrally weld to the openingportion.
 12. A method of manufacturing a fastening device with tapeaccording to claim 1 or 2, further including a step of integrallymolding an intermediate member having an opening portion at a centerportion thereof along the opening portion of the first member, prior tomolding the second member.
 13. A method of manufacturing a fasteningdevice with tape according to claim 1 or 2, further including a step ofintegrally molding an intermediate member constituted of two or morelayers and having an opening portion at a center portion thereof,between the first member and the second member.
 14. A method ofmanufacturing a fastening device with tape according to claim 1, furtherincluding a step of making a material of at least the second membersofter than a material of any other members.
 15. A method ofmanufacturing a fastening device with tape according to claim 1, whereinthe second member is a male fastening member of a snap fastener, whichprotrudes from a surface of the tape and is engaged with and disengagedfrom a female engaging portion of a female fastening member of the snapfastener, and the method further includes a step of setting the malefastening member to be made of a material having a melting point higherthan the first member.
 16. A method of manufacturing a fastening devicewith tape according to claim 12, further including a step of applying anoptional color to each of the first member, the second member and atleast one intermediate member.
 17. A method of manufacturing a fasteningdevice with tape according to claim 13, further including a step ofapplying an optional color to each of the first member, the secondmember and at least one intermediate member.
 18. A method ofmanufacturing a fastening device with tape according to claim 4,including a plurality of nipping members, wherein each of the nippingmembers has a front end nipping portion and a corrugation controlportion, and the method further including a step of positioning thefront end nipping portion at an intermediate position between aperipheral edge of the attachment hole of the tape and an outerperipheral edge of the first member after molded or at a position towardthe outer peripheral edge from the intermediate position and nipping thetape, and a step of opposing the corrugation control portions to eachother, the corrugation control portions being tapered in such a manneras to gradually increase a gap with respect to the tape toward a centerof the attachment hole from the front end nipping portion.